(Phillip Island)
11am Sunday 23rd August
The kelp forest regeneration site at Motu Te Maika (Philip Island) in Tutukaka Harbour is flourishing, with strong natural juvenile kelp recruitment adding to the initial Green Gravel planting from our lab in Church Bay. Over the past 2 years we have seen a steady increase in the diversity and abundance of both fish and invertebrates making their home amongst the recovering kelp forest.
Whilst this is fantastic to see, we are still a long way from the balanced dynamics of a fully functioning kelp forest. There are still major gaps in the food web, including the predators of both juvenile and adult kina, which means we still need to play our part in keeping the kina population at healthy numbers. It’s so important to remember that kina also play an important ecological role on the reef. By grazing the ecklonia kelp they provide openings in the canopy for other seaweed species to settle, thereby contributing to the overall diversity and resilience of the whole ecosystem.
It’s all about balance and with a strong recruitment of juvenile kina over the autumn and winter, as well as some migration of adult kina from outside the regeneration site, we need to do some selective kina gardening between now and the end of Spring to keep the recovery on track.
This Sunday we are looking for 8 to 10 volunteers to help us do some kina gardening. Most of the kina will be best suited for composting, but there will be quite a few larger adult kina that will already have some juicy roe for those who enjoy a salty kina snack. The maramataka for Sunday is in the Huna (low energy) phase, a good time for giving back to Tangaroa, and nurturing your hinengaro (mind), tinana (body) and wairua (spirit).
Please bring your own snorkelling gear, gloves, catch bag and kina hook if you have one.
If you are keen to join us please email glenn@oceanspirit.org or txt or phone 021 2772989 so we can organise numbers and details.
Te Wairua O Te Moananui 