infonews.co.nz
INDEX
CONSERVATION

The Tui To Town Project

Thursday 31 May 2012, 3:10PM

By Marlborough District Council

503 views

Tui To Town Project brochure
Tui To Town Project brochure Credit: Marlborough District Council

MARLBOROUGH

Promoting natural habitat restoration for the Wairau Plain

Help get tui and other native birds back to town!

Report any sightings of tui in and around town or anywhere on the Wairau Plain. Tui have started appearing in May and will be around until about December, as they start looking for food sources (particularly nectar) outside their forest habitats to the north and west of Blenheim. Please record where and when you see them, what trees they are using etc, and either phone the Council to report or enter your entry into our website (address below).

Plant native trees and plants to help create more habitat for tui – funding is available for larger plantings of 1000 square metres or more. Information on suitable plants is available on the website or pick up a brochure and planting guide from the Council.

The Tui to Town project promotes native habitat restoration in and around Blenheim and the surrounding Wairau Plain. The project began in June 2008 and includes information and publicity in the form of a brochure and website information.

The Wairau Plain area has very little natural habitat left – less then 1%. The vision of the Tui to Town project is to work as a community to increase the area of natural habitat on the Wairau Plain suitable for tui and other native birds by creating stepping stones and corridors through new plantings.

Since the project began four years ago in 2008, the Council has helped to fund 28 new planting projects, creating about three hectares of new habitat. Many other smaller planting projects have also been carried out by individuals, schools and other groups. Community restoration projects like Grovetown Lagoon and Tuamarina/Blind Creek, along with the Council’s own plantings, are also adding to the big picture.

In 2011, tui were reported visiting one of the first Tui to Town plantings established in 2008. This shows that it only takes three to four years before a planting can become useful to tui, providing insects, fruit and nectar to feed on.

For more information about the Tui to Town project and to report any sightings – go to the MDC website www.marlborough.govt.nz/Enviroment/Land/EcologyProjects/TuitoTown or Contact: Nicky Eade nicky.eade@marlborough.govt.nz.