Upcoming Events

Hi All

What stunning days we are having…. I’m sure winter will be upon us soon enough though.

Our upcoming events:

May 21 -  Curator’s Walk.

Lead - Sheryl Clyma.

At the recent AGM, Sheryl demonstrated methods of taking plant cuttings from a variety of plants. Hopefully that will inspire some of us to propagate plants for the Friends plant sale later in the year.

Sheryl will lead the walk this week and will cover the practical side of growing cuttings with some material available for the friends to take home and try to propagate for the plant sales. Meet at the Bellringer Pavilion at 10:30am, rain or shine.

May 23 -  Thursday’s Evening Meeting. 

Speaker - Alan Metcalfe.

Alan, local (and fanatical) historian, member of the Friends and volunteer buggy driver, will give an informative historical address re the Park in the early days, noting the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Park is 2025.

Meet at the CAB building next to the YMCA at 7pm.

I look forward to seeing you and your friends at these events

Kind regards

Sue

FoPP Monthly Newsletter - April 2024

APRIL 2024

Events Programme May 2024

7th Wanderers’ walk. This week is Bird Week. Birds are a subject of special interest to Elise Smith. Elise will lead us through the Park focusing on the birds whose habitat it is, and their food sources.

16th Committee meeting

21st   Wanderers’ walk. Curator’s walk. Sheryl Clyma will meet us at the Bellringer Pavilion at 10:30 will cover the practical side of growing cuttings with some material available for the friends to take home and try to propagate for the plant sales.

23rd  Evening Meeting Thursday’s speaker. Alan Metcalfe, member of the Friends and volunteer buggy driver, will give an informative historical address re the Park in the early days, noting the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Park is 2025.

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Review of April's Events

Wanderers' Walk April 2, 2024

Lead - Glyn Church

24 walkers and 2 dogs enjoyed a beautifully mild day 2nd April 2024, for a wander through the Park with Glyn - this man is a mass of interesting information, history and plants alike.

Glyn thinks we have the mildest climate in the world - he actually means the coastal strip of Taranaki, in his words, it's very good for growth, with fertile free draining soil.

A study undertaken recently found we can grow anything in Taranaki, but nothing well! Meaning we do not specialize in any one product - our diversity.

Therefore we are a "Jack of all trades but a master of none".

Also drawn to our attention was the diversity of plants from many different nations.

The Japanese garden is a picture at the moment, beginning to look extremely tailored and clipped - well worth a visit.

The walk took us past the lake, up to the azalea dell, then back around to the Fernery.

Thank you Glyn for a relaxing informative walk.

Below are a few snaps taken on the day

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Wanderers' Walk 16 4 2024

Lead - Derek Hughes

17 of us joined Derek Hughes (photographer) on an amble through the Park today. Autumn is such a perfect time for colours and patterns.

The attached photos I am including reluctantly – they do not compare to those Derek produces! He gave us helpful tips for camera settings and angles and we focussed on light, shadows, sky, reflections and  framing of  subjects for the photos. Derek certainly sees the Park through a different lens and we were grateful for the expertise he shared.

It was a relaxed morning. The sun came and went (often too quickly of our lens) and seeing the kids on holiday, grandparents and parents made for an especially enjoyable morning.

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Brooklands Zoo Events

by Eve Cozzi – Brooklands Zoo Lead

Brooklands Zoo is a popular destination, attracting more than 135,700 visitors in 2023.  We are a community-focused facility that holds daily keeper talks and school group bookings for talks, projects, and tours. We also accept several high schools, UNITEC, and university students for work experience placements.  Through regular family-focussed events such as Kaitiakitanga (Guardian of the Earth) Back to School Day, the zoo educates families about pest control and how to make sustainability choices through games, puzzles, giveaways, and workshops.  

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Friends of Pukekura Park Membership Application Form

To apply for membership, either click on the link to our website page or download a pdf application form

Go to website page

FoPP- 2024-2025 membership application.pdf

Download PDF • 57KB

Copyright © 2024 Friends of Pukekura Park, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:

Friends of Pukekura Park

PO BOX 484

New Plymouth, Taranaki 4340 

New Zealand

Wanderers' Walk

Meet at the Bellringer Pavilion, Tuesday 2 April at 10:30am.

Our leader for this week’s Wanderers' Walk will be Glyn Church.

In his own words……Glyn – “I’m a plantaholic. My wife describes me as a “horticultural delinquent” because I’ve worked in nurseries, parks, botanic gardens, fruit farms and even had a go at landscaping and indoor plant decoration for the rich and famous in London. Basically anything to do with plants I’ve had a go at it.”

We are so lucky to have Glyn involved in the Friends of Pukekura Park as a committee member and advisor.

His walk promises to yield interesting snippets in relation to plants and trees.