Katherine Mansfield Valley incorporates all the valley floor surrounding Katherine Mansfield Drive (KMD) in Whitemans Valley (WV) Upper Hutt. The project area for Katherine Mansfield Valley was set up on 6 December 2018. It consists of two distinctly different parts - a broad area of valley floor, backing on to the Mangaroa Peatland on one side of KMD, and the other half where the houses back on to an area of native beech and pine forest which becomes thicker the further you go towards the southern end of the valley. The nature of the geography of the area affects the amount of trapping that needs to be done and the nature of that trapping. There are some 110 households on KMD and WV Road plus extensive farmland areas used for grazing stock. The Hutt Valley Clay Target Club also lies within this area.
Over the ridge line overlooking KMD is the main Whitemans Valley. I am particularly interested in linking landowners on either side of the ridge line, in order to implement supportive trapping. The “Big Picture” is very important to me – how what we do in our “back yards” affects the major conservation efforts in nearby locations such as Zealandia and the Remutaka Forest Park.
Out here in Upper Hutt, we will undoubtedly see the benefits of these flagship conservation projects, with strangers such as kaka, kiwi, whitehead, rifleman likely to come visit us along with the kereru, bellbird, tui and karearea that are already here. We need to get on top of the pests on our patch and be ready for our visitors!
If you live in the Katherine Mansfield area or the northern part of Whitemans Valley I would be very keen to talk with you and discuss what we do and how you can help. If you are trapping already I would love to be able to record what you do so that we can all be part of that “Big Picture”.