Conservation Week programme celebrates home places
“This year, Conservation Week (11-18 September) is about home places. We have so much here that we should value,” says Golden Bay conservationist Heather Wallace about her view of the significance of Conservation Week.
“Sometimes conservation seems just too global and too hard for individuals to take on. But if we all took care of our home places – whether we see them as a district, a suburb, a locality, a property or even just a vege garden – there’d be no problem. Having said that, there’s a big focus in Conservation Week this year on the godwits/kuaka. We are very important for godwits here, and there’s nothing more global than a godwit. They fly 12,000kms without taking any notice of artificial, man-made things like political boundaries and surveys.”
The official theme for this year’s Conservation Week is “Love New Zealand/Arohaina i a Aotearoa”. Organisers say thousands of people across the country will join in activities to show how much they love New Zealand’s unique wildlife, incredible natural areas, and the places that are part of our history.
Golden Bay activities commence on 9 September at 7.30pm when Nelson photographer and television documentary presenter Craig Potton will show slides of Golden Bay’s iconic landscapes. The venue is the Senior Citizens’ Hall behind Takaka’s Catholic Church at 7.30pm. Supper will be provided, but a gold coin donation would be appreciated to cover costs.
During the week, Golden Bay and Motueka will welcome the godwits and focus on where they have come from and their non-stop flight to New Zealand from Alaska. There will be displays on the kuaka in the DOC offices.
On 14 September, the Conservation Week art and poetry competitions close.
At 7.30pm on 16 September, Keith Woodley, the author of Godwits: Long-Haul Champions, will speak in Takaka at the Senior Citizens’ Hall. Competition winners will be announced.
In Nelson, Motueka and Golden Bay on 23 September, bells of all kinds will ring to welcome the kuaka. In Golden Bay, the Collingwood Volunteer Fire Brigade bell, the Collingwood Area School bell, the resurrected Golden Bay High School bell and Dave Heraud’s massive Japanese bell will all ring together at 11am.
“It’s an inspirational place and it’s easy to show how much we love it,” says Heather Wallace.
Neil Wilson
