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Friends of Flora - About Us |
Biodiversity The Flora Stream area of Kahurangi National Park is situated at an average elevation of approximately 800 metres. The northern flanks of Mount Arthur 1795m and the southern flanks of Mounts Lodestone and Hodder feed the catchment area. Silver, Red and Black Beech (Nothofagus species) are the dominant canopy trees. Along the Flora Stream other common species are Olearia cheesemanii, Melicytus ramiflorus (mahoe), Coprosma grandifolia and several hebe species. On the Mount Arthur track Dracophyllum traversii is very common. Mountain cedar (Libocedrus bidwillii), Archeria traversii and Olearia lacunosa, are also present. Above the bush line a myriad of Kahurangi’ s alpine plants are on display, including numerous celmisia’s (mountain daisy), Spaniard and hebes, including Hebe albicans (Mount Arthur hebe). In summer gentians and willow herbs, to name just a few, add to the variety. The Flora catchment has a number of New Zealand's native bird species. Ten of them are named as our 'indicator' birds, meaning they are the birds used within our monitoring data so as to follow whether the numbers are increasing as a result of our trapping protection. These are the bellbird, grey warbler, tomtit, rifleman & robin, and the larger birds; kaka, weka, kakariki, falcon and blue duck. In addition, there are many others species present including brown creeper, tui and kea. We have been rewarded in recent times with bird numbers noticeably rising. There are many species of invertebrates in the area, including the giant North West Nelson Weta. Also present in numbers is Powelliphanta, a species of giant carnivorous land snail.
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FoF Committee
Chairman - Peter Adams DOC Liason - Chris Golding
Making a difference
Our monitoring is carried out in the last two weeks of each month. This involves 10 teams, each with a team leader, and about 30 other volunteers, spending one day a month checking and re-baiting the traps. During the winter months - May through September - baits are replaced bi-monthly. On the original Flora Valley line bird counts are recorded at alternate trap sites. FoF is an example of what can be achieved when a group of dedicated people get together. However, we cannot become complacent. It is an ongoing project and will have to remain in place, along with current DOC programs, until such times as better ways are found of eradicating introduced predators. |
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AwardsTrust Power Community Awards 2010. |
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Friends of Flora, PO Box 317 Motueka | fof@fof.org.nz | 03 528 9054 |
From a small group of very enthusiastic volunteers, Friends of Flora has grown to become a true community project. Between DOC and FoF, we now have a trapping program covering approximately 5,500 hectares. Our hope is that we can keep predator numbers (stoat, rat & possum) low enough that birds such as Whio, Kiwi, Kaka, Robin and Rifleman can breed in safety.