News from the Valley

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our survey. Please watch this space for the results and for more information on what is happening next for the Kaitiakitaka in our urban ecosanctuary program. Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary (Open VUE) relies on volunteers to provide support by offering their time, skills, and expertise. There are many wonderful ideas coming from the residents to promote and increase biodiversity within the Valley. However, as with most volunteer-based organisations, Open VUE has quite a few challenges associated with getting these ideas to fruition due to low volunteer turnout. Funded by …

Due to the adverse weather predicted for Thursday 3 October we have moved this year’s event to The Valley Project, 262 North Road, Dunedin. On Thursday, 3rd October join the Valley Project, community and conservation  groups, local schools and your neighbours for an afternoon of family-friendly fun put on by The Valley Project and its partners! 1pm – 4PM The Valley Project, 262 North Road, North East Valley COMMUNITY STALLS + ENTERTAINMENT + FOOD TUCKS FREE but Koha is always appreciated. To celebrate Lindsay Creek, learn and engage with environmental topics and practices that benefit the awa and …

Join us for our annual Keep NZ Beautiful Clean-Up! We will be meeting at the Valley Project office, 262 North Road, at 10am on Friday the 27th of September. Please wear appropriate footwear and sun safe clothing. Gloves and bags will be provided. If you have any questions please email openvue@northeastvalley.org or call 473 8614.

The results are in, and we can count ourselves lucky here in North East Valley! Thanks to students from Otago Polytechnic and the Nature Club at North East Valley Normal School, we were able to contribute data for the 2024 NZ Bird Count from four different locations in North East Valley. Observations were made between 29 June – 7 July, and sites included Chingford Park, Bethune’s Gully, Wilkinson Street Park in Pine Hill, and the North East Valley Community Garden behind the Normal School. Manu pango (blackbirds), korimako (bellbirds) and pīwakawaka (fantail) were observed at all four sites. Students …

Open VUE is holding a native plant sale to celebrate World Environment Day on Wednesday, 5 June from 9am-2pm at the Valley Project office in North East Valley. The sale will include tree fuchsia/kōtukutuku, coprosma robusta/karamū, veronica salicifolia/koromiko, cabbage trees/tī kōuka, kunzea ericoides/kānuka, kōwhai, and dodonaea viscosa/akeake, among others. The prices will range from $3-$4, depending on the size of the plant. Cash and eftpos are accepted. These plants were germinated and grown as part of our native propagation nursery. All proceeds from the sale will fund future projects associated with the propagation nursery's efforts to tackle climate change …

Thank you for your interest in the Garden Star program. Please fill out the form to calculate your garden biodiversity rating. By completing and submitting this form, you'll be eligible for a FREE VOUCHER to purchase two native plants from Ribbonwood Nursery. You can submit the form by emailing it to openvue@northeastvalley.org or you can print it out and drop it to the Valley Project office at 262 North Road. 

New Zealand has several kinds of native wasps which have evolved here and are not a nuisance. However, five species of social wasps have been introduced in the last 80 years and have become pests. These include German and common wasps, and three species of paper wasps. These introduced wasps harm our native birds and insects (including attacking beehives), as well as being a threat to human health. There is a particular concern for German and common wasps in New Zealand as they have no natural predators here, giving way to some of the highest densities in the world  …

Bird feeding is a common activity throughout the world, with birds being fed a range of foods from bread (5.1 million loaves in NZ) to seeds, fat, fruit and sugar water. When asked, people said they found bird feeding enjoyable and pleasurable. This connection to nature provided by feeding birds, has been found to be highly psychologically beneficial. I know for myself, in Winter, I find I am fascinated by watching birds nibbling at an apple I’ve put out for them, although I’m often put off by the slightly shriveled apple skins they leave behind! Sugar water might be …

I was looking out the window at the Valley Project office, clutching my warm cuppa tea, because it’s becoming cold now and I started thinking about what it was I was looking at. The hillside looked like a painted canvas, in amongst the background of the green forest were splotches of orange and yellow. That got me thinking, how and why do leaves change colour, why do some trees lose their leaves, and others don’t?  The name for trees that lose their leaves is “deciduous”, from the latin, “deciduus” which means “that which falls down”. And it’s not just …

Here is the solution to the October Valley Voice Kids' Corner Bird Code Cracker! How did you get on?

In April we teamed up with Orokonui Ecosanctuary, and together with Ōpoho School explored Blacks Bush.  It's home to Ōpoho Creek that winds its way down Signal Hill.    With the fearless explorers, we investigated the creek, the plant species, and the predator monitoring (tracking) and trapping programmes as part of Predator Free Dunedin’s City Sanctuary project.    Read the reports below from children who enjoyed visiting Blacks Bush.