31 January 2011

Pukeiti may be world famous for its magnificent rhododendrons but some of the iconic property's more humble life forms will be under the spotlight during a free event this Sunday (6 February).

A hands-on river ecology workshop will focus on the tiny insects, crustaceans, worms and snails that inhabit Puketewhiti Stream at Pukeiti, with participants learning how these creatures can reveal much about the health of waterways.

"Your feet will get wet but your brain will be stimulated," says the Taranaki Regional Council's Regional Gardens Manager, Greg Rine. "We'll have a Council biologist and educator on hand to show you how to gather invertebrate samples from the stream, how to identify them and how to use them to assess water quality."

Also covered will be other indicators such as the clarity of the water, its temperature, the flow of the stream and the state of the vegetation on the banks.

The free workshop starts at 10.20am and is being held in conjunction with a Pukeiti Explorer Club kids' fun day running until 2pm and featuring games, prizes and a bouncy castle.

"The river ecology session is as much for mums and dads as kids," says Mr Rine. "We've run these workshops at Tupare in previous years, and people of all ages have found them fascinating.

"Some baseline assessments have already been done at Pukeiti, and the quality of the stream water is very high."

The workshop is part of a year-long schedule of public events at Pukeiti and at Hollard Gardens in Kaponga and Tupare in New Plymouth, three heritage properties owned and managed by the Taranaki Regional Council on behalf of the people of the region.

For more information, see www.pukeiti.org.nz, www.tupare.info and www.hollardgardens.info. The Regional Gardens are also on Facebook (TaranakiRegionalGardens) and Twitter (TaranakiRG).

ENDS

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