Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves

Introduction

Indigenous bush areas, both public reserves and privately held, provide an important link to maintaining and preserving the natural ecosystems and heritage of native plant and bird life in this country.

In the Tawa suburban area of Wellington City there are few enough remnants of bush and these require proactive management if they are going to survive the rigors of surrounding commercial and rural development and uncoordinated community pressure.

The bush remnants in Tawa also provide important linkages and corridors between the larger bush areas around Colonial Knob to the north and the Wellington City Inner Town Belt to the South.

It is only through the continued vigilance of the local community that remaining bush remnants will be protected and where possible expanded to form more viable ecological communities for the benefit of future generations.

Reserves

The primary reserves of interest in the Tawa basin to the Friends are the following: –

Charles Duncan Reserve

Forest of Tawa (Te Ngahere-o-Tawa)

Larsen Crescent Reserve

Pikitanga Reserve

Redwood Bush Reserve

St Anne’s Reserve

Wadham Grove Reserve

Wilf Mexted Reserve

Willowbank Reserve

Woodburn Reserve

History

The Friends of the Tawa Bush Reserves Inc was formed out of an inaugural public meeting on the 27th February 2002. Prior to this there existed an interim committee whose initial focus was to preserve the widely acclaimed, botanically unique in the Wellington region, indigenous bush remnant of Larsen Crescent Reserve that was under threat from urban development. It was recognised that such preservation and conservation could not be sustained in the longer term without increasing the size of the ecology catchment to at least include the Redwood Bush Reserve. Community input to the founding public meeting further extended the catchment of the friends group to the wider Tawa basin area.

We plan to achieve these ideals by:

active guardianship on matters concerning the Indigenous bush reserves of Tawa;

preserving, restoring, and enhancing the essential character and beauty of the Indigenous bush reserves of Tawa;

working in close association with the Council; and by

ensuring that the indigenous bush reserves of Tawa remain an inspiration for today’s citizens, and for future generations.