April-June 2022
Welcome to the April-June issue of Voice for Nature, the quarterly newsletter of the Central Otago Branch of Forest & Bird. We would really like to hear from you, so please send any content to Ross (jrosssinclair@gmail.com). For all other branch related issues please contact our Secretary, Annabel Riley (annabel@plotlandscape.co.nz). (Topmost photo Mo Turnbull)
What does your local branch of Forest & Bird actually do?
The Central Otago Lakes Branch of Forest & Bird consists of a large group of members with common interests in understanding, protecting and enhancing our local environment and biodiversity.
As a founding member of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust, we are also helping to create a predator free region extending from Haast Pass to Lake Whakatipu. We are guarding the northern gateway into the Sanctuary.
Our main activity is predator trapping: 25 years of dedicated volunteer effort
- Makarora trapping since 1998 with 778 traps now in action (2022)
- Trapping at Mt Roy and Matukituki valley since 2021 with 60 traps
- 903 predators removed in 2021 and 6169 since trapping began
- 70 volunteers on trapping rosters, 5000 hours per year
- Our carbon footprint is monitored and is being offset
- Mohua/yellowhead populations are monitored to measure success
- We sponsor research into predators and mohua populations
- We also plant hundreds of trees for biodiversity enhancement and carbon sequestration.
We are a voice for nature in Central Otago and the Southern Lakes
Inside this issue
- From the Chair - Comments from the Chair of your local branch of F&B
- Latest news from the Southern Lakes Sanctuary - Here what's been happening with this exciting and ambitious project protecting biodiversity in our region
- Roys Peak trapping programme - A collaboration between Forest & Bird and the Wanaka Multisport Trapping group to protect 5 species of lizard
- Wānaka Trap Library - A new initiative launched by Wānaka Backyard Trapping to make traps available for locals in the Upper Clutha area
- Makarora Predator Trapping - What we are doing to protect nature at Makarora
- No More Bad Cats - Protecting river birds using automated humane traps
- Update from the Makarora Coordinator - News about work in Makarora supported by the Southern lakes Sanctuary
- Nature's Voice - A reprint of our monthly column in the Wanaka Sun: 'Why do some traps catch more rats?'
- Shake a stick at... short summaries of branch-related news: Young Valley trapping, Little tufted Treasure, Pennycook Podocarp Restoration, Offsetting carbon by planting at Grandview, Whakatipu Wildlife Trust - Bird Monitoring Workshop
- You can help! - Information about joining, volunteering and donating
- Up-coming events - Details of forthcoming events in the region
- One of the team - Highlighting one of the team and their work for F&B
- Thank you to our donors and supporters - a shoutout to our supporters
- Missed an issue? - Links to past issues of Voice for Nature
From the Chair
As we move through Autumn it is time to organize our AGM, which would normally entail a guest speaker and reports on the Branch’s activities over the past 12 month. However, the Society’s requirement, at least for the southern provinces, is that we continue with a remote approach, which we plan to do on Tuesday 14th of June commencing at 7pm. Advice and a link to the ZOOM meeting will be emailed to members on our list. The Chair’s report, finances and reports on various activities will be circulated at the same time. Anybody not on the list is welcome to contact us at altyevan@gmail.com
Our venerable organisation, which for much of its existence, was known as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Inc. and now settling for - Forest and Bird – is New Zealand’s independent voice for nature and will become a centurion in 2023. This is a remarkable feat of endurance and will be celebrated appropriately next year.
The organisation moves between thriving and surviving by virtue of the generosity of its members, supporters etc. In difficult times, such as now, our friends become pre-occupied with matters of immediate moment and contributions which are relied upon for essential projects are seriously diminished. We are grateful to have access to generous individuals and organisations that value and contribute to our work, which allows us to tick along, even if at times we wonder where the next $ is coming from.
Purely coincidentally, there is a changing of the guard at the top with the retirement of our Chief Exec. Kevin Hague after 6 years of sterling service. Now in the hot seat is Nicola Toki.
Nicola holds a BSc Hons degree in Zoology, Ecology and Environmental Law from Otago University. Her previous employment has been in those fields, with a year term with the Dept of Conservation as a threatened species ambassador. We wish Nicola every success in her exciting new role and will be doing our best to get her down here to meet the locals.
We aware of the businesses organisations and families that have been challenged in a variety of ways by Covid 19 and its long tail. While the number of cases seems to have peaked the commercial and social implications will be with us for years to come.
I have written before of how Forest &Bird at a national level has had to put off staff and curtailed important programmes following the dramatic reduction in donations which are its life support system.
At local branch level we have fared much better. Our work, including predator control and native tree planting and care, has continued without interruption. The Branch is blessed with a number of enthusiastic, highly skilled people for whom contributing to the public good is in their DNA. Ultimately the success - indeed the existence - of civil society is dependent on sufficient numbers of its citizens being inclined toward putting the success of community ahead of immediate personal interests.
I wish to take this opportunity to focus for a moment on some of the remarkable people that have served and are serving the local Central Otago Lakes Branch with their time and extraordinary talents.
Since the discovery of Mohua - Yellowhead - in the Makarora catchment, Andrew Penniket has been determined to enhance their chance of survival by destroying their predators - stoats and rats particularly. The most recent count confirmed that the population is stable and perhaps increasing. The particular vulnerability of the Mohua arises because of their propensity for nesting in holes in the trunks of trees, where predators have access when they climb the tree.
More recently feral cats have captured Andrew’s attention, resulting in trapping programmes in the Matukituki and Makarora catchments using solar power and satellite telemetry to effect live capture. His latest project on Mt Alpha focuses on the threats to alpine skinks and geckos that suffer losses via predation by hedgehogs and mustelids.
Anne Steven, brought up on a Mackenzie Country station, has her own business as a local Landscape Architect. Her deep knowledge and appreciation of the natural world and willingness to protect and enhance it makes her long association with the branch one of vital importance. Our carbon sequestration project in the lower reaches of Grandview Creek on Lake Hawea Station owes a great deal to Anne, providing, as she does, knowledge of appropriate plants for the location, together with the task of getting them in the ground and their protection in the early stages. On behalf of Forest & Bird, Anne also influences what others are doing in the field of environmental protection, particularly when submissions are sought by Central and Local Government. Recent examples are the QLDC Draft Climate Plan, and High-Country Tenure Review proposals. Anne’s skill set is well suited to involvement in this work.
Indefatigable is the word that best fits the efforts of Ian (Mo) Turnbull a retired geologist. Under Mo’s watch the predator trapping regime at Makarora has grown to 780 traps serviced by 45 volunteers. All their work must meet the standards set by DoC; health and safety requirements of the relevant legislation; and outcomes recorded so that success or failure can be measured. Happily, the Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust, an amalgam of other such bodies in the region, has provided some relief to Mo and his team. He is leaving the Committee to take on the position of Trustee in the rapidly developing Trust, but will still be catching rats.
But that is not all. Mo has been a key figure in the negotiations with Lake Hawea Station for the developing native tree planting programme that is intended over the years to enhance local biodiversity and sequester carbon in sufficient quantities to result in carbon neutrality of most, if not all, of our Branch activities. This is yet another example of the benefits that can emerge from developing strong relationships within the community.
Finally, our Treasurer, Lesley Anderson. We struggled for a couple of years with nobody in this role, and when Lesley showed up - out of the blue - we didn’t know what a treat we were in for – but a treat it is.
Lesley has figured out that the staff in Head Office have a lot more in the way of resources than we have at this level and that changes of procedures are often in the wind. Having a good relationship with Wellington is a key. Doing it in her stride is the way it appears with, for instance, the monthly accounts arriving by email a few days before our regular monthly meeting. Lesley, you are a treasure, for which we are exceedingly grateful.
Evan Alty is the acting Chair of your local branch of F&B. You can contact Evan at altyevan@gmail.com
(Photo SLS)
Latest news from the Southern Lakes Sanctuary
Your local branch of Forest & Bird is one of the founding members of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, an exciting and ambitious project that aims to intensively control or eradicate predators across 183,000 hectares in the catchments of Lakes Wānaka and Whakatipu to protect more than 20 threatened or at-risk bird and lizard species.
Paul Kavanagh, Director of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, gives us the following recent highlights:
- "Our staff have serviced 2250 traps as part of our trap assessment. Approx 50% of traps in the Whakatipu have been serviced, 77% of Makarora traps and 75% of East Matukituki traps
- We are currently running a pilot study to trial the new AT220 traps and to compare their effectiveness against Flipping Timmy traps, in addition to trials on alternative lures such as poauku lures in DOC traps
- We are monitoring in the Rees Valley ahead of implementing trapping with the long-term plan to release takahe here in late 2024
- We have also begun monitoring on the new Coronet Loop track with trapping to be implemented here in summer
- Our workshop is in full swing with trap building under way
- We are incredibly excited about our upcoming conference on the Conservation Standards, being held at Cardrona Alpine Resort from 23rd May to 27th May 2022. We are delighted with the turnout, and we are confident that it will be very beneficial for our project, and for the region"
A recent retreat involving senior staff and trustees (ie. representatives of the founding organisations) of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary outlined the following strategic goals for the project:
The groups also outlined the following six areas of strategic focus:
If you want to learn more about the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, click on the link below or contact Petrina Duncan (petrina.duncan@southernlakessanctuary.org.nz).
(Photo A. Penniket)
Mount Roy is home to at least 5 species of lizard – orange spot gecko, Southern Alps gecko, McCanns skink, green skink and Southern Lakes skink. They are all threatened by introduced predators, especially hedgehogs which are voracious lizard hunters. Alpine wetas are another animal that will benefit from trapping.
The Roys Peak trapping programme has now been running for 4 months. The traps were installed and are maintained as a collaboration between Forest & Bird members and the Wanaka Multisport Trapping group.
So far we have caught 9 ferrets, 9 hedge hogs and 1 weasel.
Trappers have been servicing the line every two weeks but will stop for the winter months before resuming once the snows have disappeared in Spring. This is one of the highest trapping lines in the country and we are fortunate to have such a keen group of fit people to help out right on the outskirts of Wanaka township. Splendid scenery is one of the rewards.
Andrew Penniket is a committee member of our local branch of Forest & Bird. If you are keen to assist on high-altitude trapping, contact Andrew (apenniket@yahoo.com)
Wānaka Trap Library
A new initiative launched by Wānaka Backyard Trapping to make traps available for locals in the Upper Clutha area
The community-led group Wānaka Backyard Trapping started a new initiative in May 2022 – the Wānaka Trap Library. Twenty wooden boxes, each containing a DOC 200 trap mechanism, are now available for locals in the Upper Clutha area to borrow. A tracking tunnel, tracking card and chew cards are also provided.
The trap library aims to get more locals engaged with trapping and monitoring pests on their own properties, which in turn means they’ll take a greater interest in positive outcomes such as more birds or lizards. Whether someone wants to kill a pesky ferret which is harassing their chickens, or commit to long-term backyard pest control, the trap library can assist people to get started with no financial outlay.
This project has been made possible by Jobs For Nature funding via the Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust. Funding has included the cost of materials and labour to build the first 20 trap boxes, plus a staff member to coordinate the library.
The Wānaka Backyard Trapping group has recently established a working relationship with the Wānaka Community Workshop. The team of volunteers at the Workshop have generously offered to host the trap library. There will be regular scheduled dates when the public can come to the workshop to pick up or return a trap box and learn how to use the DOC 200 trap mechanism. These traps can effectively and humanely kill rats, hedgehogs and mustelids, while the extra-long box prevents interference by cats. The Workshop has also started selling traps in boxes, built by their volunteers, to the public: $25 for rat traps, $90 for DOC 150’s and $95 for DOC 200’s.
To borrow a trap box, people will first need to pay $5 for a membership to Wānaka Backyard Trapping and learn the basics of how to trap from an experienced trapper.
For more information about the Trap Library, please email Petrina (petrina.duncan@southernlakessanctuary.org.nz)
Predator Trapping at Makarora
Trapping update, March 2022
The Central Otago-Lakes Branch trapping team of 50 volunteers runs a network of around 800 traps along 14 trapping lines in Makarora at the head of Lake Wanaka. Each month the team reports the number of predators captured. Every three months the team also runs tracking tunnels to give us an independent way to monitor predator numbers.
It has been a busy few months at Makarora.
Our trapping expansion is coming to an end and has seen a big increase in trap numbers over the last few years to a total of 778.
The last trap line to be built with our grant from the DOC Community Fund will go out in the next couple of months, along the back of the fan below Castle Hill. This will supplement the Kiwi Flat and Castle Hill lines and pick up several traps from the old DOC Haast Highway line. More traps will still be going out though - a big line all the way up the Blue will be put in by the SLS team later this year, and the SLS will also fund and deploy extra traps in the North Young and South Young. When the Young Valley line is extended next summer, there will be a line of traps extending from north of the Haast Pass, all the way to below Gillespie Pass into the Wilkin. This sort of landscape-scale predator control is at the heart of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary.
The new Castle Hill trap line of 26 traps is up and catching. It was completed in March, and extends from the end of the Kiwi Flat line opposite SH6 at Cameron Flat, down to the bridge over the Makarora near the Blue Pools track. The North Muddy Creek fan area traps have been re-organised, to enable them to be cleared by one car-load of volunteers rather than two, a saving in both fossil fuel and volunteer’s time. A few more traps have also been added around the rat factories of Cameron Flat camp ground and the Blue Pools car park. The whole Muddy Creek fan is now gridded with a total of 240 traps.
In terms of critters caught, fortunately the increase in stoat numbers we saw earlier in the year has tapered off, although rat numbers are still climbing. An unusual catch was a ferret on the Kiwi Flat line; the first ferret for many years. On the Bridle track, the long-life NARA lures are still catching animals, but the effectiveness of these baits is still being looked at.
Tracking tunnels are used as an independent way of monitoring the number of predators in the areas we trap. They are simply a tunnel with an ink pad and paper. The predator is attracted to the tunnel by a bait, walks over the ink pad and leaves footprints on the paper that are then used to identify the species. Tracking tunnels in Makarora were checked in May by the Southern Lakes Sanctuary team. Mice are busy, but rat numbers are quite low.
At Muddy Creek, where our DOC Community Fund grant has allowed us to put out a lot more traps, rat tracking is <10% which is gratifying, as keeping rats below 10% is a condition of the grant!
All the trap catch records which were stored in the DOC Animal Pests Trapping database have been successfully migrated into the TrapNZ system. We are still learning to drive this, but it seems to work. Trap management – keeping track of when traps were cleared, and maintenance issues – are easier, but analysing the data is more difficult. We are working with CatchIT at Auckland University to get their graphics integrated with TrapNZ. As examples of what CatchIT can do, look at these links below.
Rats, The Movie - this is a visualization (called a 'density map') of the number of rats caught at Makarora between 2006-2022. The larger and brighter the 'bubble' the more rats that were caught.
Stoats In Time! - this is a visualization of the number of stoats caught at Makarora between 2006-2022.
Click the tab below to get an interactive visualization of catch data for Makarora. You can date range, species and trap type. Have a play!
Mo Turnbull is a committee member for our local branch of Forest and Bird. (sandymount@actrix.co.nz)
(Photo Mo Turnbull)
No More Bad Cats
Forest & Bird uses a satellite-based platform for the humane live trapping of cats on braided riverbeds. Live capture traps are used as cats are more willing to enter the larger traps and any kea or pet cats caught can be released unharmed. Because the system sends a message when an individual trap is tripped, we only need to check traps at those times, not daily, and cats do not remain in traps for longer than a few hours. This trapping programme is designed to complement the extensive kill trap network in the adjacent forest areas of Makarora.
The No More Bad Cats satellite-monitored live trapping programme for predator control has had a very successful season, with the Makarora River network recording a milestone of 50 cats and over 250 hedgehogs in the 18 months since it started. Initially aimed at giving some protection to braided river birds when they nest over Spring and Summer, we have extended trapping through Autumn and early winter, to hit the predators when food is short and they are hungriest.
Our dedicated Makarora volunteer is now being supported by Southern Lakes Sanctuary - Jobs For Nature funding, which has been a big help for expanding our trapping operations, both in time and coverage of the valley.
Our sister live-capture trapping programme in Matukituki Valley has also had a very successful season with 10 cats, 22 hedge hogs and 14 possums caught in Autumn. This project is primarily staffed by volunteer members of the Upper Clutha Deerstalkers who do a great job clearing traps on a daily basis.
Trapping here will resume in September, to reduce predator numbers before the breeding season of black fronted tern, black billed gulls and other threatened species. Plans are afoot to move our satellite hub up to Treble Cone Skifield, to take advantage of mobile phone reception and save considerably on satellite fees. This will be a collaboration with the skifield, to assist their own excellent trapping initiative on the upper slopes and down the road.
Live capture programmes are complex operations requiring a big commitment of time and funds. Forest & Bird is very grateful for the support of the Upper Clutha Deerstalkers, Billy Barton and Mary Hunt for providing bait and servicing traps, and Tim Sikma for tremendous technical support. Brian and Jannie Gillman generously sponsor the satellite fees and the Southern Lakes Sanctuary has kindly covered the cost of 50 new cages traps and 10 nodes. This will allow us to expand both networks to 50 traps each, which should be an optimum number. We plan to be operating at full numbers for both rivers in Spring of this year. A huge thanks to all our helpers and supporters
We are always on the lookout for volunteers with their firearms permit, to help.
Andrew Penniket is a committee member of our local branch of Forest & Bird and the driving force behind the 'No More Bad Cats' project. If you are keen to assist on cat trapping, contact Andrew (apenniket@yahoo.com)
Update from the Makarora Coordinator
Di Liddell is the Field Operations Coordinator for Makarora. Di coordinates the logistics of supporting and expanding the existing trapping network. She manages both paid field staff, and the large number of volunteers (50 at last count) who do the mahi on the trap network. This part-time position is with the Southern Lakes Sanctuary and is funded for 3 years through DOC's Mahi mo te Taiao/Jobs4Nature.
The past couple of months have been busy with the field crew continuing with their trap checks and identifying which ones would benefit from replacement. While the newer lines at Makarora are in great nick some of the older lines have traps which are rusting and so are becoming more difficult to set and less effective. Over time we will aim to replace these old galvanised traps with stainless steel ones.
Nationwide, all traps that were on the DOC database for record keeping have been migrated over to TrapNZ and this includes Forest and Bird’s network in Makarora. This has meant learning a new system and ensuring that the database accurately reflects what is on the ground. There have been a few glitches and, as with any new system it has taken time to learn the most efficient way to record trap catches and wrangle data. TrapNZ is proving a little more flexible in terms of altering lines while still maintaining accurate records so we have taken the opportunity to implement some changes that the volunteers suggested to make clearing them more efficient. This has involved track clearing and marking on the ground and new spreadsheets and gps points back in the office.
You can visit the TrapNZ website and look at the latest data from the Makarora and other trapping projects from around the motu.
With colder weather approaching winter will be a time for trap building so we can start extending lines in the spring.
You can contact Di at di.liddell@southernlakessanctuary.org.nz
Nature's Voice
In each newsletter we will reprint an article from our monthly 'Nature's Voice' column in the Wanaka Sun for members that may have missed them. The following article is about research commissioned by your local branch of Forests & Bird to tell us 'Why do some traps catch more rats?'
Why do some traps catch more rats?
As anyone who has ever tried catching rats in their shed or in the wild will know, some traps catch far more rats than others. As people who spend a lot of time killing rats to protect wildlife, we really wanted to know why this difference exists, and see if it could help us be more efficient at catching rats.
The Forest & Bird predator trapping project at Makarora, run with DOC to protect Mohua and other bush birds, has had rat traps out for years which have only caught one or two animals whereas others a few hundred metres away have caught dozens. The reason for this difference is not obvious.
With funding from the Curious Minds Otago Participatory Science Fund through the Otago Museum, we were lucky to get Otago MSc student Peter Doyle to answer the question. Makarora was a useful study area for him, as there are trap catch records going back to 2006, with consistent types of baits and traps being used over that time. Peter spent several weeks at Makarora, surveying the possible environmental factors relevant to rats, within 20m of each trap along many of our trap lines: the different types of vegetation, distance from water or tracks, soil and landform and aspect. The research focused on beech forest, as that is the most widespread forest type in the trapped area (and elsewhere in the Southern Lakes). All the data went into some fiendishly complex statistical software, which compared these environmental factors against rat catch data from 100 traps.
So what is the answer? It’s complicated!
Peter found some quite solid correlations. Where traps are sited near small trees and shrubs under the bush canopy, like karamu, putaputaweta, horopito, mingimingi and round-leaved Coprosma, they catch more rats. These species produce rat tucker (berries), and also tend to be twiggy with thin branches and often dense foliage, preferred habitat for climbing ship rats. Where traps are under mature beech forest with little understory, they catch fewer rats. There are also local variations: there are a lot more rats caught adjacent to the Makarora village and traps which get flooded don’t do much at all.
Overall, Peter’s research results mean that we now set our traps differently. We still follow ‘best practice’ and space them at around 100m (approximate rat territory size) on trap lines, or even closer in trap grids, but move them around within that distance so they are under berry-bearing sub-canopy plants. These findings will also be use in the upcoming Southern Lakes Sanctuary programme, which will be putting out many more traps at Makarora and elsewhere around the Hawea-Wanaka-Whakatipu region over the next 3 years. If the rate at which we catch rats improves by even 10%, that is a lot less rats roaming our forests and hopefully a lot more native species protected.
The project also involved local schools in the research, an integral part of the Curious Minds programme. Teachers from Upper Clutha schools spent several days at Makarora, looking at the trapping programme and the philosophies, techniques and outcomes of predator trapping. As a result, the Hawea Flat school is embarking on their own trapping programme along the Hawea River, with help from Enviroschools, F&B and Wanaka Backyard Trapping. They will be surveying the local vegetation and bird populations, monitoring predator numbers, putting out and clearing traps, recording the results, and answering their own questions about why some traps catch more rats.
In the end, all of this is about the birds and the biodiversity. Traps and dead rats are just one means to the end of saving our vanishing native taonga. If the pupils of Hawea Flat school can carry on this battle, their Curious Minds will be well satisfied.
Mo Turnbull is a committee member of the local branch of Forest and Bird.
Photo: Nicole Sutton from DOC shows Hawea Flat school children a Weta Motel during a “Curious Minds” visit to Makarora (Photo J. Goodwin)
Shake a stick at...
'Shake a stick at...' are short summaries of branch-related news
Young Valley trapping
The Young Valley trapping programme in Makarora has had a successful season with 8 rounds of trap checks totaling 91 rats and 30 stoats.
This Spring we plan to extend both North and South Young lines. The North line will extend into an area of good mohua habitat which currently receives no protection. This will also provide a good route up toward the new lake and will be popular with explorers. We hope to add 30 traps. Sometime in August/September we will call for helpers to flag this route and put in markers.
Around October this year we also plan to fly in 20 traps to the South Young head basin, where currently there are just 4 traps which often catch stoats. This is aimed at providing protection for rock wren which generally receive little help from trapping due to always living in high remote places. The South Young is one of the few “accessible” locations that we can trap. We also know from trapping around Harris Saddle on the Routeburn, that rock wren benefit immensely from trapping, targeting stoats.
(Andrew Penniket is a committee member of our local branch of Forest & Bird. If you are keen to assist on trapping in the Young Valley, contact Andrew (apenniket@yahoo.com)
Little tufted Treasure
A recent visit to the Mahata Scientific Reserve in the Lindis River QEII covenant area yielded another of its wee treasures. Carex decurtata (pictured above) is a small upright sedge endemic to the stoney outwash and alluvial terraces of Central Otago and the McKenzie Basin. In this reserve it it’s growing out of Raoulia australis mats in stiff brush-like tufts best appreciated on your knees! These plants are on the threatened species list and only known to occur in this reserve.
Pennycook Podocarp Restoration
Forest & Bird are assisting with the Pennycook Podocarp Restoration project on the south side of Makarora township. In the past two winters we have planted 55 kahikatea, 17 totara and 29 matai in amongst bracken and broom. Using broom as a shelter has been an interesting experiment which is turning up dividends with high growth rates of kahikatea - increasing from 1 metres tall to 1.5-2 metres in just one year. Eventually the Podocarps will shade the broom and replace it. Unlike bracken, broom also has the advantage of not collapsing and smothering the young trees.
This long term project was initiated by Heather Pennycock to rehabilitate her QEII Covenanted land and we are helping her regenerate forest over a large area of broom and bracken. A maintenance and preparation day is planned for late May and a seperate planting day a few weeks later. Please keep an eye out for the dates - all help is very welcome as we have 50 more large healthy Podocarps to go in this year. (Andrew Penniket, apenniket@yahoo.com)
Offsetting carbon by planting at Grandview
Paterson Pitts Group surveyors sent 20 people to help plant trees at Grandview - including one keen volunteer with his arm in a sling! Over 200 trees were planted.
Whakatipu Wildlife Trust - Bird Monitoring Workshop
Whakatipu Wildlife Trust volunteers are often ecstatic about high catch numbers and frustrated with periods of no or low catch numbers. Relying on catch numbers to gage the success of our predator control efforts is flawed – if we are doing a good job, surely numbers will reduce over time.
A much better way to monitor the success of our projects is to use bird counts. Anyone who has looked at the non-descript little brown introduced birds might think that is just too hard, but why not start with just the native species you can easily recognise? Doing a five minute bird count from time to time is relaxing and easy – why not give it a go?
The Whakatipu Wildlife Trust ran a Bird Monitoring Workshop on 17th May 2022 to explain the basics of this valuable tool and the tools that are available to help.
If you are interested but could not make the workshop, send an email and WWT can forward the information to you after the workshop. hello@whakatipuwildlifetrust.org.nz
You can help!
If you would like to volunteer with our local branch, please contact Annabel: annabel@plotlandscape.co.nz
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If you would like to donate to the work of your branch here in Central Otago Lakes, please contact Lesley (And your donation is tax deductible!): lesleyma2016@gmail.com
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Learn more about F&B
Forest and Bird's Purpose: We Protect and Restore Nature in a Climate Crisis
Forest and Bird's Vision: Aotearoa, New Zealand Working Together for Nature
Forest and Bird's Mission: We Stand, Speak, and Act for Nature
(Photo A. Penniket)
Up-coming events
- Planting at Grandview Creek on Lake Hawea Station (above) is part of the Branch's carbon offset project. We have regular trips to the site for planting, weeding, watering, mulching, and general TLC for our trees in Grandview Creek. if you are interested in helping, contact Anne Steven: a.steven@xtra.co.nz ph. 021-293-9207.
- Lake Onslow Field Trip. We are still planning a public field trip to the lake, bringing along speakers with specific knowledge of the critical issues around pump hydro. Interest so far has been strong so public notification of the event will cover the Clutha catchment. Keep an eye out for a further announcement.
- The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network are having a 4-day conference in Queenstown in early December on ecosystem restoration. See the link below for details.
One of the team
Each newsletter we highlight people who are part of our Voice for Nature
Though most of the COLB work takes place in the Wanaka and Hawea Catchments, Leslie Van Gelder brings the perspective from a few valleys over, as she lives up the Rees Valley near Glenorchy where she’s been since 2008. Leslie’s had a lifelong love of the natural world and conservation which was seeded by her father, a wildlife biologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. A childhood of doing fieldwork alongside her dad in East Africa and the US West shaped her world view, an understanding of how, as John Muir once said, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” In her teens and early 20’s she worked in seabird conservation and environmental education in Atlantic Canada and later became a consultant for the Quebec Labrador Foundation helping to develop a Global Leadership Network which, in accelerating climate changing times, becomes increasingly relevant.
Leslie holds a Ph.D. in Place Studies and Experiential Education and is a Professor of Education with specialisation in global and indigenous education at Walden University. Her research work is in Prehistoric Cave art in France, Spain, and Australia where she has pioneered methods that have led to the identification of women and children as cave artists and is currently exploring the relationship between cave art and climate change during the last global maximum. Here’s a link to her TEDx talk on her work.
She also works as a consultant in a wide range of fields that involve understanding people and their interrelationships with ecosystems.
Closer to home, Leslie has served on the QLDC Vision 2050 taskforce, the district’s Covid Regeneration and Recovery Advisory Group, and currently chairs the Glenorchy Heritage and Museum Group and plays an active role in the Glenorchy Dark Skies Sanctuary group. She was involved in the formation of and is now a Trustee of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary. When not working, she can usually be found painting up the Rees Valley or at Diamond Creek with her ill-behaved but terribly charming Labrador, Blaze.
You can contact leslie at perchikben@gmail.com
(Photo L. Van Gelder)
(Photo Mo Turnbull)
Thank you to our donors and supporters
We would like to again thank our many generous donors and supporters: DoC's Mahi mo te Taiao/Jobs for Nature through funding to the Southern Lakes Sanctuary has enabled a paid coordinator to be hired for Makarora, and for other generous support; Brian and Jannie Gillman once again gave a substantial donation that went toward the No More Bad Cats control system; Stu and Karen McKerchar from Central Gold Eggs in Roxburgh continue to donate fresh eggs; Wonderland in Makarora offers our trappers a local’s discount that is much appreciated – we drink a lot of their coffee; DoC Community Fund supported the expansion of the trap network by 275 traps over 3 years, and DOC continues to pay for some of the baits we use in trapping. This month, Patterson Pitts Group provided a very keen labour force to help plant our expanding carbon forest.