Latest
New restoration area TLC
Checkout progress on the new area down near the surf club – last winter’s plantings are looking great and only one patch of lupin came through in the spring flush (now removed!).
Just one patch of lupin seems to remain in last year’s restored area – only about 2 hours to remove (cheers guys!)
The pingao down at this end is still going great guns 🙂
June planting day
It was a misty day for this year’s plant out in the stage 3 area near the surf club. Then the sun came out for the bbq .. perfect!
Summer working bee pics
A few pics from our recent lupin bash – thanks guys! It was surprising to see how few there were really (compared to this time last year!)
Environment Group update
Here’s a wrap on activities that enhanced the Sumner environment over this past winter… follow the link here.
Tau ke!
Planting day success!
Sun was shining this time!
July working bee pics
Site prep done … come on down for the Planting Day Saturday August 27!
Sumner Dunes working bee 24 July
Hi guys,
The July working bee is coming up — this Sunday July 24 at Sumner Dunes.
10am start, see you there!
Backdune maintenance needed this winter
We’ve had two recent working bees to keep weeds under control in the back-dune areas while coastal forest plantings are getting established. Lookout for more work bee dates coming up – many hands make light work! These are especially important now that there’s plenty of moisture around and lupin seedlings are sprouting up. These won’t be a problem in the long run once the natives are established but for now they need to be kept in check before they get too big! Lupins grow much faster than the natives and can easily take over – but are easy to pull out when they’re small.
Thanks to the team who have been on the case so far … drop us an email to environment@sumnercommunity.org.nz to get news of the next working bees or keep an eye on the facebook page http://www.facebook.com/sumnerenvironment
Tree planting at South Brighton
Lend a hand at one of our neighbouring coastal reserves this coming weekend … see the flyer for details
New restoration area
Checkout this pic of the newly restored area thanks to last winter’s big plantout effort. Spinifex is taking off!
Dune TLC
The backdune restoration area got some TLC recently thanks to an enthusiastic team of 20+ who came along The native plants from last year’s backdune plantings are doing well but not quite as well as the lupins which are coming back strong! There will be several follow up working bees over the winter to keep them under control while the native plants get established.
7 November Conservation Week event
SUMNER DUNES WORKING BEE
As part of Conservation Week we are having our annual working bee at Sumner Dunes in preparation for the summer. Come and be a part of this great community event to keep our coast healthy and happy!
When: Saturday 7th November at 11am – 1pm
Where: Sumner dunes – meet on the beach outside the Surf Club
What: Mulching all the new plants which have been growing well over the winter. This mainly involves lots of buckets and a few wheelbarrows to move mulch from a central spot.
Bring: The CCC guys will have most of the gear we need but if you have a spare bucket bring it down. The mulch will be coming by trailer and we just have to shift it from there 🙂
Many hands make light work so see you there.
PS .. there’s some mention of free icecreams!
New plants in at Taylors
With help from Taylor Mistake Bach Owners Assoc coastal restoration at the southern end of Taylors is getting underway. We recently put some new plants in ground just in time for spring growth and will soon be working a stream restoration plan for the backdune creek.
Later in the summer we’ll be running a mulching session to look after these new plants and the many other plants we released in the Taylors backdunes earlier in the year. Look out for that!
Jason Roberts: local hero
This article was originally posted on the Dunes Trust website on 14 May 2015 in the News category.
Christchurch’s recent beach erosion was reduced due to 20 years of dune restoration planting by Coastal Ranger, Jason Roberts.
The earthquakes may have passed but coastal erosion is still with us in Christchurch. If you go down to the beach today, after the recent spectacular stormy seas, you’ll see some significant dune erosion in places such as at Spencer Park beach, and some fully vegetated and stable dunes in others, such as the pictured South Brighton beach. Same day, different management input.
The first line of defence, and the cheapest insurance policy, against such storms is having healthy functioning and managed sand dune systems in place. The stable dunes pictured at South New Brighton, have a full face of sand binding Spinifex in place, trapping sand and being a natural buffer.
Without our history of 20 years of persistent Dune Restoration plantings by the community and facilitated by committed CCC coastal park rangers such as Jason Roberts, we could well see all our dunes looking like those also still found today just north of Spencer Park, with the 4-5m cut scarp.Keep up the great work, Jason!
Dunes Trust news
Last Saturday Sumner beach was buzzing with community activity as local volunteers (70) worked with regional parks coastal rangers to undertake the annual winter sand dune planting programme. ‘Coast Care’ ranger Jason Roberts has worked closely with the Sumner Environment group and others for several years to facilitate regular beach work days, which have included tasks such as walkway construction, weed removal and restoration plantings.
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Not only will the 2000 new plants help stabilise the dunes, reducing sand blow nuisance, and reinstate native species to our coast, but they will also build a basic buffer dune to protect the adjacent Sumner Surf Lifesaving Club and future Coastal Pathway route. The club facility, presently being rebuilt, (cf. scaffolding in photo background), will combine a new set of public toilets and landscaping, funded by CCC Parks Unit, to enhance the whole beach area, improve visitor experience and help build pride for the local community.
If you want to be involved in any future Sumner Environment Group events, get in touch with click here
http://www.dunestrust.org.nz/news/62/78/Community-rebuild-underway-at-Sumner-Beach/
Plants are in!
Smashed it! It was a great turn-out and we made short work of our Big 2015 plant-out before getting started on the BBQ. Thanks guys! Thanks also to Environment Canterbury for supplying the plants and CCC for the BBQ!
All up there’s around 2000 new plants in the ground including lots of back-dune natives that will help restore a coastal forest and bring birds back to area.
We’ve now got 2/3 of the beach done (save a little TLC as we go) … !
Native plants back at Sumner!
Thanks to everyone who came down on Saturday to get the site prepared for the big plant-out on Saturday the 20th. We’ve staked out all the fragile plants already in the ground so they are easy to see.
The site’s looking great & we’ve got HEAPS of plants to get in this year thanks to Environment Canterbury. Come on down to help Saturday 20th 1-4pm BBQ from 4pm!
Sumner Coastcare Project 
