Early after Charles' arrival on the East Coast, Charles was asked to work with Dame Anne Salmond's Waikerurū Eco Sanctuary & Longbush Trust and the residents of Te Tairāwhiti Gisborne's Waimatā river catchment.
Charles' project management and relationship development skills led to the establishment of the Donner's Bush Microreserve project in which a wide range of groups worked together to adopt and restore indigenous vegetation stands along the Riverside Road banks of the Waiamata. Key partners in this work included:
- Eastern Institute of Technology Rural studies students completed their fencing modules through fencing off two unique riparian reserves, while restoration students learned plant ID and designed successional planting plans.
- The reserves became outdoor ecological educationclassrooms for tamariki and Rangatahi from the YMCA's alternative education programme, Matapuna Training Centre, Turanga Ararau, Gisborne homeschool, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hawaiki Hou and a number of local schools.
A Gisborne Herald item regarding this project can be found here:
-
