Newsletter - June 2026
- 13 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Our Ancient Pūriri is one of the finalists in the Tree of the Year competition
Check out the website and vote for our tree
OUR PROGRAMME FROM JULY TO DECEMBER
October or Nov - Bruce Clarkson and 3 students, still to arrange. We may have a series of talks with co-hosting, with Puke Ariki and Wild for Taranaki. See below from Bruce - it will be very interesting to hear more.
Prof Bruce Clarkson and students- “The epiphytes of New Plymouth", and "The flora of Te Papakura o Taranaki".
Elise - whichever month is missing - Journeys to unfamiliar places: The Ghan, and New Caledonia
July
WEDNESDAY 1st - Wanderers' walk. Lead - Alan Jellyman - WEDNESDAY
Meet at Bellringer Pavilion - 10.30am
Alan is a renowned horticulturist and author with a long history with the Park. He became Director of Parks and Recreation in 1977 and contributed greatly to the Park for over 30 years. He will cover succession plantings that have been occurred over the past few decades and their history. He will also chat about some of the conifers we encounter on his walk.
7th - Committee meeting.
14th - Wanderers’ walk. Lead - Tony Burrell
Meet at Bellringer Pavilion - 10.30am
Tony will look at the structure of trees in the park. Some change during their life stages while others change to suit the environment. Will check out examples within the park..
23rd - Thursday’s Meeting.
Citizens Advice Bureau, next to the Y.M.C.A. - 7pm
Speaker - Allan Stancliff, Fish and game
Review of June's Events
2nd - Curator's Walk – Lead - Ian Hutchinson
Umbrellas at the ready, 9 of us set off on a soggy morning with Ian to explore where the four ceremonial trees were planted by Miss Jane Carrington when the Park opened 150 years ago. There was a British Oak tree representing England, a puriri representing NZ, a Norfolk Island pine representing the Pacific Islands and a Pinus insignus representing America.
These were all planted around Cannon Hill. The oak to the east, puriri to the north, Norfolk Island Pine to the west, and the Pinus insignus to the south. Access to the Park at time was via Liardet Street.
Other trees planted on the opening day by members of the public included a yew tree planted by Mrs Colson and a rimu planted planted by Robert Clinton Hughes’s mother
Cannon Hill was treeless at the time.
In 1976 there was a centennial planting of six trees. Ian pointed out the four which remain. They are a Ginkgo tree planted by Fred Parker, a Linden Tree planted by Mrs Eliott king (Adrienne Tatham's mother), a Norfolk Island pine planted by the then Mayor Denny Sutherland, and a rimu planted by Don Saxton.
Ian informed us that a Camellia japonica dido was one of at least four camellias donated to the Recreation Grounds in September 1890. The report of the donation in the newspaper does not say who planted them. The donors were listed as Miss Devenish, Mrs Skinner snr., and Mr T Veale.
The large Rhododendron Sir Robert Peel by the hatchery Lawn is thought to have been planted by Thomas Horton in August 1924, not long after starting as curator.
We gathered in the Band Rotunda to hear tales of Professor Furlong – his statues in the main lake and the fountain which was erected at the main lake end of Hatchery lawn.
The warm Tea House welcomed us afterwards for a dry out and a hot drink!
Many thanks as always Ian
16th - Wanderers' Walk - Lead - Nicky Tootill
Guided Freshwater Explorative Walk
On June 16th a group of keen adventurers joined ‘Wai Warrior’ Nicky Toothill from the Wai Connection team for June’s Wanderer Walk in the Park.
Nicky helped us discover some of the hidden life of Pukekura Park’s local waterways. Some of the many highlights included hands-on testing of water clarity, temperature and conductivity from various streams and waterways in the park, and we discovered and examined invertebrates – meeting a few longfin and shortfin eels up close.
We now have a greater understanding of how fish passages work and how they can both be a positive and negative for certain fish species. It was interesting to learn how the water quality monitoring and species classification systems work alongside each other and how important and connected our marine and freshwater environments are.
The effects of introduced mammals and pests were discussed, as was the topic of Aotearoa’s declining native whitebait species. We discovered how planting can benefit our waterways by providing shelter to species that require it and to help maintain optimum water temperatures and water quality.
Overall it was a very engaging and special experience – Nicky was a fantastic guide.
Eve Cozzi Brooklands Zoo Lead
Wai Connection – Tatai Ki Te Wai is a nationwide New Zealand environmental initiative that empowers community groups, iwi, and landowners to protect and restore local waterways. It provides local catchment groups with the knowledge, scientific tools, and expert support needed to monitor stream health and advocate for freshwater environments.
Below are some useful and informative links relating to the walk
Lawa - Land Air Water Aotearoa -This site has information about the health of our waterways around the country
To find information about water quality in taranaki rivers and streams open the link below
Taranaki Regional Council also publishes live data (every 15 minutes) for river levels, rainfall, etc: see link below.
Inaturalist is the best site (and phone app) for searching and sharing photos of species for identification and data collection. For example you can explore species recorded in pukekura park: Link below
Benthic Macroinvertebrates Field Identification Guide
Below is a user guide for the Macroinvertebrate Community Index
River water quality – macroinvertebrate community index: Data to 2024
River water quality – clarity and turbidity: Data to 2024
25th - Evening Meeting
Guest speakers were: Pukekura Park Curator Sheryl Clyma, The council's representative on the FOPP Committee Kerry Vosseler and Conrad Pattison, Parks & Open Spaces Manager.
Sheryl ran a PowerPoint presentation (see below) which had images from the 150th celebration planting and highlighted some of the events that took place during the week. The presentation also had images of some of the improvements that have taken place during the past year, including: repainting the old ticket boxes, removal of the Len Lye plinth from the Fred Parker Lawn, upgrades to the Rogan St and Victoria Rd car parks, Re-decking of bridge in the Maranui Gully, work on the Scanlan Lookout etc.
The last slide highlighted staff changes. Thompson and Theresa Darbyshire, both new to the Fernery and Retiring staff member Ray Pope.
Conrad Pattison spoke about the council's map system, Atlas. This is New Plymouth District Council’s gallery of interactive maps. Whether you’re looking for property details, rates information, rubbish collection days, infrastructure layers or planning information, Atlas provides a central place to discover and access maps and spatial data.
This system is also going to be adapted to show plant locations in the park. This will be similar to what already exists for Tūpare, Hollard Gardens and Pukeiti. See links below.
BIRD FLU
With the threat of bird flu in our midst, below is a pamphlet describing some of the symptoms, and whom to contact if you suspect that you have spotted a bird with the symptoms.
From the Zoo
Why Zoo Nutrition Matters
Written by Maxine Jenkins - Brooklands Zoo Supervisor
When you visit a zoo, it’s easy to admire the animals you see without realising how much careful planning goes into keeping them healthy. One of the most important parts of animal care is nutrition, and it is guided by both experience and modern science.
Zoo animals have very different dietary needs from one another, just as people do. For instance, a meerkat requires a diet containing taurine, with high insect content, while a reptile depends on precise balances of vitamins and minerals to maintain healthy bones.
Zoo nutritionists—specialists in animal feeding—work closely with veterinarians to design diets that meet the exact needs of each species. These diets consider an animal’s age, weight, health, activity level, and natural feeding habits.
Before any diet is used, it is carefully reviewed and approved by veterinarians to ensure it supports long-term health and wellbeing, both physical and mental.
Many zoos use diets that have been designed by zoo nutritionists using a specialised computer programme called Zootrition. This tool helps nutritionists analyse foods and balance vitamins, minerals, protein, and energy levels with great accuracy.
Keepers spend a large portion of their days dealing with animal diets: sourcing, preparing high-quality, species food items. While some species may only eat once a day like our native owls, small active mammals like otters and meerkats may need 4-5 feeds per day to match the time they would spend looking for food in the wild.
Keepers also spend a lot of time coming up with ways to present the food to stimulate natural behaviours. This might be using feeding toys that need manipulating to encourage the primates to use complex problem-solving to get their food, or burying items so the meerkats can use their strong sense of smell to locate food under sand and soil, or freezing fruit and vegetables in ice blocks for parrots to chew on a hot day.
Good nutrition directly affects an animal’s wellbeing. It supports strong immune systems, healthy joints, good eyesight, and natural behaviours such as breeding and foraging.
As animals age—much like humans—their nutritional needs change. Mothers with babies may require more calories to produce milk, while some animals may require softer foods, additional supplements, or adjusted meal sizes to stay comfortable and active.
Many zoo species now enjoy life spans well beyond what they might experience in the wild, due in large part to advances in diet and health management.
Friends of Pukekura Park Membership Application Form
To apply for membership, either click on the link to our website page or download a pdf application form
Copyright © 2024 Friends of Pukekura Park, All rights reserved.
Comments