Scout and Guide leaders head for the hills for Moot
Putting away the joys of youth may have been the theme of Lord Byron’s poem So, we’ll go no more a roving but the national Rovers from Scouts and young leaders from Guides weren’t having a bar of it.
Even though Cyclone Cook had threatened a wild start to their adventure, around 160 18 to 25-year-olds from around the country headed off to the big Easter weekend Moot (gathering) held this year at the Ahuroa Fire Station.
Along with checking out the area, competitions and dress up parties in the evenings, the Ahuroa and Glorit communities were the winners of another of the planned activities for the group giving the locals a hand.
After a powhiri and while they were still fresh and enthusiastic, the youngsters headed off for around five hours’ work on conservation projects in the area.
‘‘We had a great day – thank goodness the weather played ball,’’ one of the organisers of the working-bee Glorit farmer Gill Adzhead said. With Cyclone Cook threatening the Auckland area the contingent of DOC people couldn’t make it, she said.
‘‘They were very concerned about the weather and needed to be prepared for possible work arising from that.’’
Buckets of gravel were carted uphill and onto walking tracks at CUE Haven overlooking the Kaipara Harbour. Here a small 24 hectare farm is being transformed back into native bush by owners Mahrukh and Thomas Stazyk. The land will eventually be covenanted with the QEII Open Spaces Trust.
At Atuanui/Mt Auckland Ngati Whatua o Kaipara from the Puatahi marae are in the middle of a project to rid the reserve of pests and protect kauri from deadly die-back. A new zig zag track to the southern entrance of the reserve was built and gravelled. This in an effort to get rid of
‘‘We had a great day – thank goodness the weather played ball.’’
Gill Adshead
clinging mud from boots as people approach the boot cleaning station.
Walking tracks and seating also went in at Mataia farm nearby. Ongoing pest eradication work by owners Gill and Kevin Adshead have seen brown kiwi reintroduced to the farm.
The wharekai at the Puatahi marae also got a coat of paint, and a new path.
To top the day off, the workers then sat down to a hangi they’d also helped to prepare.