Love NZ - Conservation Week 2010 offers heaps of talks and walks
“Show how much you love New Zealand” is the key message and call to action for this year’s Conservation Week, which runs from 12 to 19 September.
Golden Bay DOC community relations manager Greg Napp said the focus this year week was “to encourage people to love their country, every aspect of it and to revel with nature.”
The theme intends to show that conservation is about protecting what makes New Zealand unique and to foster people’s pride about New Zealand’s specific flora and flora and landforms.
Locally, there’s lots happening from the beginning of September, involving a range of different groups and organisations. People are invited to send in a photo to DOC’s Takaka office by 12 September, showing a place they love, with a paragraph explaining why they love it. The photos will be put in a window display during Conservation Week and every entry will go into a draw for prizes, which include $50 book vouchers and $50 worth of hut tickets.
There are also some pre-Conservation Week planting events, for which it is strictly “bring a spade”. Last Saturday Coastcare and DOC sought some community support at the Motupipi sandspit planting, said Greg.
“Luckily the fire on the sand spit in November last year left a narrow strip of native dune plants on the bay side of the spit. As a result, the foredunes of Motupipi spit remain as the best example of pingao and spinifex foredunes in Golden Bay. Unfortunately the remainder of restoration plantings on the spit were destroyed by the fire.”
The local Forest and Bird branch has also planned activities and events, starting with a recent talk by Craig Potton. Forest and Bird invites people to come to a walk on Sunday 19 September with Mac Harwood, and visit special places on his family property at Upper Takaka in the company of botanist and totara expert Dr Phillip Simpson. Book for this event with Jenny Treloar at 525 7900 and meet at the information centre car park at 10am.
A Canaan Downs Mountain Biking Family Day is planned for Sunday 12 September to celebrate the completion of the track with the Golden Bay Mountain Bike Club and DOC. A family loop ride at Canaan Downs now complements the existing longer intermediate track, and there will be a sausage sizzle and hot drinks between 11am and 2pm at the Harwoods Hole car park.
A whitebait ecology talk in conjunction with fish experts Martin Rutledge (Department of Conservation), Trevor James (Tasman District Council) and Rhys Barrier (Fish and Game) will reveal the more interesting side of whitebait—what they really are, where they come from, what influences their numbers, what the weather has to do with it all, and how to look after their habitat. The talk will be at the Takaka Community Centre on 14 September at 7pm.
A whitebait display at Takaka’s DOC office will be open on 13-17 September during office hours. This is part of an educational exhibit on whitebait, freshwater fish and other freshwater flora and fauna. There will be a small aquarium with some of our native fish, models of fish, posters, publications and some video footage.
On 16 September at 7.30pm the Village Theatre will screen The Unnatural History of the Kakapo, directed by Scott Mouat. A finalist in this year’s Qantas Film Awards, it has already won numerous awards, and tells the amazing story of the kakapo and the people involved in bringing this species back from the brink of extinction. Kakapo Sirocco (the conservation spokesbird) made headlines this year with his appearance on the BBC series, Last Chance to See, and his fanbase and media hype are growing by the day, bringing the plight of his species some publicity and raising necessary funds for kakapo survival.
Conservation Week activities are co-ordinated by local Department of Conservation, though the events calendar is organised in association with a wide range of agencies and groups including iwi, regional and city councils, schools, conservation organisations, churches, and corporate sponsors. It is a national opportunity to highlight the issues facing conservation in New Zealand and to acknowledge and celebrate the work being carried out by conservation organisations, community groups and committed individuals.
For all Conservation Week events for Golden Bay see also www.doc.govt.nz. For planting enquiries, contact Rob Lewis on 525 6183 or Greg Napp on 525 8026.
Ina Holst
