Fun was the order of the day on Saturday 14th March 2015!
Kite maker extrodinaire Alan Admore, and novice kite makers Bronwyn and Chris helped children make their very own kites – out of coloured paper, sellotape, a straw and string! Every kite made flew beautifully and the children had lots of fun flying them around the koru maze outside the Education Centre.
Then it was on to Oreti Beach to fly a range of home-made and large kites brought along by participants. The beach is the ideal place for kite flying, a gentle breeze and lots of space – one kite we estimated was at least 600 metres high! Bronwyn seemed to be an expert in untangling the lines that invariably got snagged as children ran in all directions with kites trailing behind!
There is something very special about making a kite and seeing it actually take off and fly. That moment is exhilarating and thrilling, it’s so much fun and you just can’t do it without having a smile on your face – thanks Alan and Bronwyn for running this event.
The first of two foraging workshops was enjoyed by twelve people on Thursday 12th March 2015. The workshop was run by Maggie Elford and Chris Rance. Foraging is described as “to search widely for food or provisions”. We didn’t seach too widely but the aim of the workshop was to identify the plants widely available in Southland to use and eat (and a few that are poisonous!). Also, to give people new to Southland an idea of the fruit, nuts, herbs, weeds and native plants that grow well in our Southland region.
After a walk through the property indentifying plants and talking about their uses, we adjourned to the education Centre to sample some foraged foods including – elderflower cordial, elderberry truffles with panacotta, nettle pesto, nasturtium wraps, horopito crackers, dandelion coffee and a selection of tissanes – manuka, lemon verbena and chamomile.
Everyone seemed to really enjoy the evening – for foraging notes, a list of species discussed and some recipes see the foraging notes in the workshops section of the website. There are just a couple of places left on the workshop on the 19th March - book by emailing Chris.
We had such an awesome weekend at the Jo Ogier workshops!
Over two days, 25 people learned to draw and paint plants, bugs and butterflies in the relaxed atmosphere of the Education Centre. Jo is a master artist and printmaker and she makes it all look so easy but has a relaxed and engaging teaching style that captivated participants – when she demonstrated by drawing it was an absolute pleasure to watch. Jesse said “I would have paid just to watch Jo draw!”
Jo is no stranger to Southland, being the “artist in residence” with Invercargill’s William Hodges Fellowship in 2000. At that time she was studying for her Masters in Fine Art culminating in an exhibition on New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Brian had the pleasure of accompanying Jo on one of her subantarctic trips and that was when we met and became friends. Since that time Jo has exhibited her artwork widely in New Zealand and internationally. Jo and other Christchurch botanical artists are exhibiting some of their works soon at the Eastern Southland Gallery in Gore.
Jo primarily works on conservation and nature subjects and she said the Education Centre location for the workshop, with its bush backdrop and singing bellbirds, was perfect.
I think everyone who came went away happy with what they had achieved and was inspired to do more.
Some Comments from participants:
“From the moment I arrived until the time I went home I was captured by Jo’s passion for botanical drawing. I have never learned so much in one day as I did with Jo and she has inspired me to pick up pen and paper and draw. I can’t thank Chris and the Community Nursery and Jo Ogier enough for a weekend well spent” - Bronwyn
“This workshop was fantastic – a perfect blend of technical skills and unbridled enthusiasm for plants. Jo is clearly a very accomplished artist but also a deft teacher, able to guide workshop participants in their efforts. “Inspirational!” - Jesse
“Nobody even wanted to stop for coffee!” – Linda
“It was amazing to see an artist of Jo’s calibre at work. I thoroughly enjoyed the time to really look and the guidance that enabled me to take my drawing to the next level” Hannah
Date – Thursday 12 March and Thursday 19 March 2015
Venue – Southland Community Nursery Education Centre – park 183 Grant Road car park
Time – 7pm-9pm - 2 hour evening workshop
Cost - $5. Places Limited, Bookings essential
Booking and more information: email or phone Chris 03 21231161 (evenings)
Workshop Description
Foraging – “To search widely for food or provisions”. Learn how to find, identify and safely use local herbs, weeds and native plants. Sample tisanes, wild nettle pesto, dandelion coffee (or Coprosma coffee), elderberry truffles. Workshop aimed at beginners with an interest in wild foods and those wanting to gain an insight into useful (and harmful) plants that grow specifically in Southland. More information and Booking Information.
There are 7 mistletoe species in New Zealand, and one extinct mistletoe. Most are nationally threatened species such is their rareness. Mistletoes are unusual plants, they “live off” another host plant. The New Zealand mistletoes are more unusual still – they take half their nutrients from their host but they can also photosynthesise. The technical term for this is “hemi-parasitic”. Unfortunately most mistletoes don’t have common names as they have never been “common”!
The most noticable flowering mistletoes are the three species of beech mistletoes (Peraxilla colensoi, P. tetrapetala and Alepis flavida), with their spectacular large bright red or yellow flowers. These flowers are almost exclusively pollinated by tui and bellbirds who can twist open the flower to obtain the nectar. Thus the mistletoe needs these specific birds and the birds need the plant. These mistletoes only grow on beech trees so you won’t find them in Otatara. However, you will find threedifferent mistletoe species – Korthalsella salicornioides – the smallest mistletoe in the world! – usually found on manuka or Coprosma propinqua (mingimingi); Tupeia Antarctica – usually found on marbleleaf or lowland ribbonwood and Ileostylus micranthus. The latter species is the most common and has a lot of hosts including many exotic species. To spot Ileostylus look for a plant that looks like broadleaf which seems to be growing on another type of tree or shrub. Although this species has insignificant flowers, it does have bright yellow fruit which are favoured by birds. All mistletoes are “ice-cream” plants for possums and many have become locally extinct in other places in New Zealand for that reason.You can make a difference to mistletoes locally by trapping possums.
You can learn more about these and other native plants on the New Zealand Plant Conservation Website - www.nzpcn.org.nz
