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After 20 years on the Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary Society (Tossi) committee, the last eight as chairperson, Alison Stanes MBE has retired. Of course, she has only retired from the committee, and we still expect she will be an active volunteer at Tāwharanui. It is hard to imagine Alison giving up on her tireless support of the tūturiwhatu (New Zealand dotterel). It is my honour to have been elected to take over the role of chairperson and attempt to fill her shoes.
Jackie Russell and Marguerite Vanderkolk have also retired from the committee but have indicated a willingness to continue supporting Tossi as best they can. We thank them for their excellent work over recent years. Steve Osborne, Lyn Hamilton-Hunter and Mark Atkinson have been elected to fill the vacancies. We welcome them and look forward to working with them. They bring a broad range of experience and skills and are all active volunteers at the sanctuary.
As a committee we are passionate about leading Tossi in its support of Auckland Council with the ongoing operation and future development of the Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary. This not only includes the ongoing management of the onsite nursery, wildlife monitoring, fence line monitoring and predator control. Also, in the coming years, there are plans for a major wetland restoration project.
In the next month, we will be supporting Council in reintroducing wētāpunga. These are the local giant wētā. They are also known as Little Barrier Giant Wētā (Deinacrida hetaracantha). All wētāpunga whakapapa to Hauturu-o-Toi. Ngāti Manuhiri whakapapa to Hauturu-o-Toi and are kaitiaki of wētāpunga.
This is an exciting reintroduction for us and follows on from many species’ reintroductions in the last 20 years. While most of these have been bird species, there have also been several geckos and giant kokopu. Giant kokopu are one of the five galaxiid species that we know as whitebait.
We will also be continuing with monthly Sunday in the Park workdays. These days involve volunteers in a variety of tasks within the sanctuary. There are also three public planting days each year that are so important to the revegetation programme. These not only involve planting but also the set-out of the plants produced by the nursery. Fulton Hogan and other organisations have assisted us with set-out activity, and we hope they will continue to do so in the future. We appreciate how well we are supported by local and regional volunteers.
All these activities require extensive planning, funding, and delivery effort. This is not only undertaken by the committee, but also the many dedicated volunteers without whom success would not be possible. We encourage anyone who is keen, to get involved. Check out our website www.tossi.org.nz or email me at roger@tossi.org.nz and I’ll put you in touch with the right person.
