Friends of I'Anson Bush Reserve - Wahi o te Oturu

05/02/2026

WANTED: one or two people to assist with drill, fill and kill a few large privet trees. Easy terrain but a small bank to scramble up. It'll take 1 or 2 hours. All under supervision so no previous experience necessary. PM us😃

04/02/2026

A nice little clip of our beloved reserve. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/183nviZkSN/

29/01/2026

Cake wins the day!
Despite the hot weather, 15 people gathered this morning to give Moth Plant it's marching orders. We spent a fair bit of time creeping about in the undergrowth, pulling out seedlings plus looking into the canopy for larger flowering vines. Look at the size of the stem!
Afterwards we were rewarded with a sit in the shade of the Taonga Manuka plus home baking.
Can you see one of our onlookers hiding among the leaves?
Thanks to everyone who was able to be there today.

27/01/2026

This Thursday, maybe you can make it?

18/01/2026

The good news that turned bad.
Thanks to an observant reserve walker, we have recently discovered that the very special New Zealand Falcon, Kārearea has visited.
This bird (sometimes confused with the Australasian harrier, Kāhu) is sometimes seen inland near the Kaimai forest and it’s very nice to know that they consider the reserve worth a visit.
However, the bad news part of this story is that one was found dead there last week. Cause of death unknown…most likely a mustelid (Ferret, stoat or weasel) but that’s not conclusive.
All three mustelid species have been trapped in the reserve in the past but they are very mobile and elusive animals and total control of them is either impossible or very difficult.

Photos of the dead bird will be in the comments.

A robust falcon with broad wings, long tail, long yellow legs and toes, yellow eye-ring and cere, dark eyes, and a distinct moustache stripe from the base of the strongly hooked bill down the face. Adults are brown-backed with a streaked cream breast and a rufous under tail and thighs; fledglings an...

10/01/2026

UPDATE: Our Moth plant session planned for tomorrow morning will have to be postponed due to the forecast rain.
The new date is Thursday 29th January, same time and place, 9am at Armstrong Road.
We will still be in time to control it before it forms seed pods. Add it to your calendar; hope you are free. If you are new to this group and are planning to come along, please send us a quick message or get in touch prior.

Moth plant is a serious threat to the reserve and is flowering right now. We must control it before it gets the chance to form seed pods so are holding a working bee for a couple of hours on Thursday morning, 15th January. No special skills or gear needed. Message us for more details. Hope you can help out👍

18/12/2025

2025 was another great year for the reserve. Agencies and individuals all came together to nurture and improve outcomes for nature; over the year, that totaled more than 1000 fun-filled hours of mahi.
Yesterday we held an end of year celebration lunch at Bentaxel Gardens. Our deepest gratitude to everyone involved. Maybe you want to be involved in 2026?

06/11/2025

Last year we planted some native Toetoe, Austroderia (not to be mistaken for the weedy Pampas) into a few lightwells and this year it has rewarded us with flowers!

28/10/2025

An enthusiastic volunteer crew from Tauranga based Holland Beckett spent an afternoon at the reserve installing our new tree ID signs and annihilating some more pest plants. We are so thankful to have had some help. Also on hand were our own volunteers Sel, Murray, Kim and Kate plus Jake from Western Bay of Plenty District Council. Max (the lab) gave a hand at afternoon tea time too. Thanks to all.

18/09/2025

We had a great turnout yesterday, despite the dodgy weather forecast and the reserve is better off because of it. We snuck into unknown corners and found a few patches of privet and moth plant which was destroyed quick smart. Come along next time and enjoy the great outdoors with us.