Trustees’ Report for Year ended March 2022

 In our 2021 Report we referred to Bruce Copeland’s acquisition of Waorahi as the most important event that had taken place in that year as it provided us with the opportunity to have a serious look at the development and linking of tracks in the wider Piroa/Brynderwyn area. We are pleased to confirm that during the year Bruce consented to becoming a Trustee of WTCT.

We believed an integrated track network would provide the public with the best opportunity to enjoy the special landscapes and seascapes that stretch from Waipu in the North and Mangawhai in the South and from Brynderwyn in the West to Paepae-o-Tu (Bream Tail) the Coast. An area we refer to as Piroa/Brynderwyn but the traditional Maori name is Piroa.

In March this year we arranged a meeting with representatives of the other two main groups active in track development in the area namely:

·       Mangawhai Tracks Charitable Trust who for many years now have been developing a track network adjacent to Waorahi to the South and most importantly have built the very popular Mangawhai Coastal Track that runs through Bream Tail Farm.

·       Waipu Walking and Cycling Tracks Group who have nearly completed the Cycle/Walkway from Waipu to Waipu Cove.

The meeting, held on 9 February, and attended by Shelley Couper and Ann Neill (Waipu Tracks) Gordon Hosking (Mangawhai) and Bruce Copeland, Mary Sinclair and John Tapper (WTCT) discussed the possibility of coordinating our plans and integrating our networks. There was unanimous agreement to the proposal and it was decided that a Master Plan should be developed which clearly set out the tracks already built, those under construction and those needing to be built to complete a fully integrated network. This Master Plan could then be used for discussion with Local Authorities and other Agencies who have influence over track building in the PB region to ensure we are all heading in the same direction.

WTCT is taking the reins for this project and has just completed the first draft of the Master Plan map for discussion with our other Groups. A copy is attached. The main points to take from the Plan are:

• The overarching goal to connect tracks to the north of Langs Beach with tracks to the south both bush and coastal tracks.

• The Te Araroa Trail does in fact already link the north with the south through Waorahi but we believe much can be done to improve that walking experience.

• Waorahi, with the help of Air Force volunteers, has already started to divert from the metal road to a beautiful bush walk.

• The need to upgrade the Waipu Cove to Langs Beach coastal walkway to make it safe to walk all year round.

• The possibility of linking the Waterman Drive exit of the walkway with tracks through the Waterman Drive Reserve through Glen Inger’s property up to Cullen Rd and down the stream onto Cove Rd.

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In the last year the Trust has achieved a number of important goals and made good progress in other key areas:

·       Track Development

The completion of the loop track in the Scenic Reserve was an important milestone as was the improvement made to the Coastal Walkway. The onset of winter has made that track slippery and dangerous and the WDC have decided on a temporary closure. We are in the middle of discussions with Council about how we can upgrade the track to all weather. This will require a cooperative approach by both parties and an outside contractor to build about 25 sets of steps. The closure will reinforce the need for some urgent action.

A start has been made on mapping the tracks along the Waterman Drive Stream. We do have an agreement with WDC to undertake weed control in this reserve and like the LBSR we could possibly use this as a basis for extending the tracks that currently exist there. We also need to maintain regular dialogue with Glenn Inger to ensure access to Cullen Rd. No work is possible until the ground dries out.

Trackies wouldn’t be the same without Christine Birss’s B &E pie to finish off the morning.

·       Weed Control - ably lead by Glenn Clark

Weed control activities which were initially focused on Langs Beach Scenic Reserve (LBSR) are now extending to other areas where we are undertaking track development.

The two major events this year were the attack on a badly infested area of climbing asparagus on the southern boundary when we were greatly assisted by a team from DOC and the hiring of Robotec to clear a large area of woolly nightshade and gorse on our boundary with Ken Wickham and LBE. The funding of this work was made possible by some generous donations from our neighbours.

Climbing Asparagus continues to be our No 1 enemy and elimination seems beyond our current resources. We will continue to suppress and may still need to engage outside contractors.

As well as work undertaken in LBSR weed control has taken place on the banks of the Bridge to Bridge stream and the Coastal Walkway where Pamela Tindall has played a leading role. There are some larger areas of pampas and gorse that will require professional contractors’ attention. We are very fortunate to have received a grant from PBL to assist with the cost of this work.

·       Planting - ably lead by Dawn Morrison

Again planting is being done and will continue to be done in conjunction with track development and the associated weed control. A good example is the area we cleared of weeds on the Langs Beach Estate (LBE) boundary where a timely planting program needed to be undertaken to ensure the weeds didn’t take control again. The Coastal Walkway presents some interesting challenges in this regard.

During the year the main focus has been on protecting the planting carried out in the wetland and along the Bridge to Bridge and the benefits of this can be seen in the remarkable plant growth. This has involved a lot of hard labour by Dawn’s Saturday Weedies and she is hopeful that those days are over and these areas will be largely maintenance free.

·       Predator Control - ably lead by Kathryn Clark.

 The numbers speak for themselves. In the LBSR over the last 18 months Kathryn has eliminated:

288 Rats

135 Mice

83 Possums

8 Feral cats

3 Stoats

2 Weasels

9 Hedgehogs

528 in total

A remarkable effort which is entirely due to Kathryn’s total dedication to the task – and the special menus she prepares! 

·       Community Engagement

We continue to enjoy growing community support as evidenced by the excellent turnout for our Supporters Get-together last June and our special working bee for planting 2000 plants in the LBSR over Queens Birthday weekend. Our requests for funding always meet a positive response and supporters have been most generous in providing spray equipment and the like. If further proof is needed the Trust was shortlisted for the Northland Regional Councils Environmental Awards 2022 and was Highly Commended for its Environmental Action in the Community

No doubt this support has been assisted by the efforts of our communication team and the start up of our excellent website thanks to the hard work of Maggie McGregor.

 Finance

We continue to maintain our funds at a healthy level (we had $12000 in the bank at 31 March) mainly because we have been able to obtain special funding for the major projects we have undertaken. We will continue to seek additional funding for specific projects rather than an annual request to supporters.

Finally we must record our thanks to those people who, without their support our goals would not be achieved:

Mary Sinclair for her time and commitment to ensuring our affairs are professionally administered

Glenn Clark for looking after our financial affairs and his ability to present funding applications that get a positive response.

All our dedicated Ginger Group members.

Our hard working trackies and weedies groups.

A special acknowledgement of the generous supply of metal Mountfield Quarries has supplied for the Coastal Walkway.

And last but not least our wonderful band of supporters.

Many thanks

John Tapper

Chairman

17 June 2022