Forest & Bird Magazine Issue 381 Spring 2021

NEW ZEALAND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NATURE

E ST. 1 92 3

TE REO O TE TAIAO

№ 381  SPRING 2021

High-tech hunt for the

GREY GHOST Ti IF IH S G N IW N

HISTORIC

STAND UP TO STOP COAL MINING

HELEN CLARK TALKS CLIMATE AND NATURE

Contents ISSUE 381

• Spring 2021

Editorial

Cover

Future of farming

2 Climate solutions 4 Letters

14 Search for South Island kōkako

23 Intensive winter grazing 24 Pāmu farmers talk changing

News

17 RMA reform latest

Opinion

6 Duo of ocean wins 8 Tautuku scoops Jobs for Nature funding

10 Cheesman’s Bush, freshwater pollution, new Forest & Bird nursery, music meets conservation, Honeywrap winner, Bird of the Year.

practices

No new mines

Climate

18 Standing up to stop coal mining

26 Helen Clark’s Climate Aotearoa 36 Time for action

Biodiversity

Youth

20 Top tramping huts 30 26 Habitats

29 New hubs and campaigns

Freshwater

12 Tītī breeding success

32 OK Boomer! Bittern survey

History 34 Need for nature archive films

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COVER SHOT Kahurangi Kōkako watercolour by Tara Swan, www.swanphotography.co.nz

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EDITOR

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Forest & Bird is published quarterly by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Registered at PO Headquarters, Wellington, as a magazine. ISSN 0015-7384 (Print), ISSN 2624-1307 (Online). Copyright: All rights reserved. Opinions expressed by contributors in the magazine are not necessarily those of Forest & Bird.

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Community

Marine

Going places

38 48 54 55

46 What’s happening in the Hauraki

58 Paddling Rakiura Stewart Island

Walking the talk Funky fundraisers Forest & Bird award winners Queen’s Birthday award

Bird of the Year 2021 39 Try our crazy collective quiz

Predator-free 2050 40 Kakī come home

Arts 42 Creative conservation

Gulf?

Seabirds 47 Tagging Wellington’s kororā

In the field 50 Let’s hear it for red-billed gulls

Our partners 52 Pure Nature

Te ao Māori 53 Breaking Boundaries

Obituaries 60 Gordon Ell, Ken Clark

Market place 62 Classifieds

Last word 64 Silly about seals

Parting shot IBC Chatham Island snipe

Forest & Bird project 44 Pest-Free Hibiscus Coast

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CONTACT NATIONAL OFFICE Forest & Bird National Office Ground Floor, 205 Victoria Street Wellington 6011 PO Box 631, Wellington 6140 T 0800 200 064 or 04 385 7374 E office@forestandbird.org.nz W www.forestandbird.org.nz

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CONTACT A BRANCH See www.forestandbird.org.nz/ branches for a full list of our 50 Forest & Bird branches.

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Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Forest & Bird is a registered charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005. Registration No CC26943.

PATRON Her Excellency The Rt Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, Governor-General of New Zealand CHIEF EXECUTIVE Kevin Hague PRESIDENT Mark Hanger TREASURER Alan Chow BOARD MEMBERS Chris Barker, Kaya Freeman,

Kate Graeme, Richard Hursthouse, Monica Peters, Te Atarangi Sayers, Ines Stäger CONSERVATION AMBASSADORS Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton DISTINGUISHED LIFE MEMBERS Graham Bellamy, Ken Catt, Linda Conning, Audrey Eagle, Philip Hart, Joan Leckie, Hon. Sandra Lee-Vercoe, Carole Long, Peter Maddison, Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton, Fraser Ross, Eugenie Sage, Guy Salmon, Lesley Shand

EDITORIAL

CLIMATE SOLUTIONS

N

ature is showing us that all is not okay in the natural world. This winter, rain relentlessly pummelled Westport, resulting in serious flooding.

Two days earlier, Groundswell rumbled into towns across Aotearoa with its “Howl of a Protest” seeking pushbacks on the government’s climate-change policy and proposed protections for indigenous biodiversity.

Yet farmers are among those most affected by heat, droughts, fires, and floods, all of which are exacerbated by the climate crisis.

Groundswellers say they cannot afford to pay for the implementation of climate policies. The reality is we can’t afford not to implement them.

Recent events in Belgium, Germany, Greece, California, and Oregon provide ample evidence that we are living in an anthropogenic crisis of climate extremes. With each tumultuous catastrophic event, Earth becomes less liveable for us and a vast array of other species.

Our planet is in danger, but there are solutions and they are nature based. They are practical and achievable, and they will help us solve the climate crisis and our biodiversity crisis.

These solutions include: • Removing fossil fuels from our energy system • Stopping coal mining • Accounting for carbon and methane emissions in agriculture and every facet of life • Reducing introduced browsing pests to minimal levels in our forests • Protecting and restoring wetlands and forests to store carbon • Revitalising healthy kelp beds and mangroves to increase our blue carbon sinks.

Agri-dairy, our largest export earner, helps feed 100 million people worldwide. But world markets are beginning to see farming’s methane emissions as unacceptable.

West Coast road washed out following storm in 2018.

Neil Silverwood

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Currently, 48% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture.

Reducing worldwide methane levels is the strongest lever to slow climate change. Yet successive governments are backing away from holding our largest emitters to account.

In this rapidly developing climate emergency, every facet of society will have to evolve, adapt, and change.

Increasing nature’s ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is intricately connected to biodiversity gain.

Our forests could lock in 15% of the nation’s 2018 carbon emissions. Instead, they are currently struggling and collapsing under the impact of millions of possums, deer, pigs, goats, and wallabies. For example, our largest forest type, kamahi-podocarp, is bleeding more than four million tonnes of CO2 every year.

Without the pressure of introduced browsing mammals, these same forests can regain their full capability to absorb and store carbon, rather than collapsing and releasing carbon as they decay.

We are where we are because individuals, industries, and nations have ignored the decades-old symptoms of a sick climate. As a result, we now have to act decisively and accept the necessary changes will impact more on our lives than previously thought.

But the alternative of an uninhabitable Earth is unthinkable. Our human-induced climate change can and must be addressed if our tamariki and mokopuna are to have a healthy planet.

Mark Hanger Forest & Bird President Perehitini, Te Reo o te Taiao

SMALL SHIP ADVENTURES

© A.Russ

© S.Bradley

© E.Bell

© M.Crouch

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LETTERS YOUR FEEDBACK Forest & Bird welcomes your thoughts on conservation topics. Please email letters up to 200 words, with your name, home address, and phone number, to editor@forestandbird.org.nz, or by post to the Editor, Forest & Bird magazine, 205 Victoria Street, Wellington 6011, by 1 November 2021. We don’t always have space to publish all letters or use them in full.

WRITE AND WIN The best contribution to the Letters page will receive a copy of The Science of Hope by Dr Wiebke Finkler and Scott Davis, Exisle Publishing, RRP $45.

Ban cars on beaches Vehicular vandalism is an ongoing issue that is close to my heart. In the South Island, beaches are classified as roads, and driving on them is part of the culture, especially in Southland. It is important that a bylaw is established addressing human recreational activities and conserving indigenous species. On 30 May 2020, I witnessed a truck repeatedly harassing a male New Zealand sea lion on a beach in the Catlins. The male pakake kept charging the truck and had likely been guarding a pup hidden in the sand dunes. New Zealand sea lions are one of several indigenous species residing on southern beaches and are classified endangered. Sea lion expert Professor Louise Chilvers also supports a ban on driving on beaches where sea lions are present, saying: “Females need quiet, protected beaches to pup on each summer. Cars on beaches have been responsible for distress and separation of mother and pup pairs and, just last year, the death of a mother and pup pair on the road. The protection of beaches by banning cars where sea lions are present should be a key objective in successfully managing the species.”

Sian Mair Founder Sea Society Dunedin

BEST LETTER WINNER

Toxins trump trapping The increasing trend for community groups to set up local trapping projects is an exciting development, but we need to have a closer examination of the effectiveness of trapping. It’s easy to become focused on the body count rather than the population of pests still remaining. To be making any difference, trapping needs to remove more than the natural mortality of the predator population. The ecotrust I work for uses motion-activated cameras to record interactions between pests, traps, and bait stations. Viewing the video clips is sobering. Lots of animals visit the area without ever interacting with the traps and being caught. Research by the Cacophony project shows predator traps catch less than 10% of the pests that

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visit. Trapping alone seems very unlikely to achieve our goals of a Predator Free NZ, and toxins will need to be the backbone of control efforts. Trapping is also labour intensive, has a high capital cost, and has costly ongoing maintenance. Toxins remain the most effective tool we currently have to achieve landscape control of pests.

Our biodiversity is in such a precarious state we have no other option but to expand their use.

Peter Fergusson Whakatane

Cutting out coal The reality is we need coal-fired power unless we accept turning the lights out. Energy from coal can be reliably produced. Wind, solar, and water are not fully reliable because they are always dependent on the weather. We will always need back-up fossil fuel generation until there is enough redundancy in the system to cater for dry, still, cloudy weather. That seems a long way off, unless we start damming the Clyde River again, which has the ability to add another couple of “green” power stations. Coal is also needed for steel production. It’s a raw element of some steels.

Unless we want to do away with using steel, let’s get real, and differentiate between coal for energy and coal for steel. Not all coal is bad.

Gilbert Gordon Christchurch

What’s in a name?

Firstly, “hear, hear” for Paula Roberts’ letter about Forest & Bird’s magazine becoming more upbeat and hopeful, while still highlighting the serious issues. Secondly, thank you for the delightful and interesting article “What’s in a Name” by Ann Graeme. She is right the Māori names for our taonga are usually more imaginative and apt than the European. Can we hope for more of these articles?

Suzanne Williams Whakatane

BOOK GIVEAWAY Tragedy unfolds on Rakiura I am a newby member of Forest & Bird, having recently retired from an entire working life in conservation devoted to predator removal and saving threatened species in forests and on the islands of Aotearoa.

Recently, I spent time on Rakiura Steward Island, one of my bucket list activities in God’s Own. How disappointed was I, and how tragic is this place. Outside the magical Ulva Island sanctuary, which provides an indication of how Rakiura once was and should be again, and the Oban town area, where the locals must be working hard to maintain local birdlife, the main island is sadly hammered. We spent a week in the south, around Port Pegasus, tramping in what could have been some of the most magical scenery on the planet but, alas, the forest was so disappointing with almost no regeneration and the multi-fern species of Ulva reduced to those the deer don’t find palatable. Deer were everywhere, as were feral cats. Birdlife was almost nonexistent.

If Predator Free 2050 is to be taken seriously, Rakiura should top the list of priority sites, with feral cats on the front page. What an amazing place this could be, given what it is still.

Rob Chappell Coromandel

Forest & Bird

We are giving away two copies of The Spirit of the Mountains

by Ron Hay, Mary Egan Publishing, RRP $39.95. Stunning photographs accompany this rallying cry to protect nature in our majestic alpine world.

To enter, email your entry to draw@forestandbird. org.nz, put SPIRIT in the subject line, and include your name and address in the email. Or write your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to CREATIVE draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close 1 November 2021.

The winners of Creative Conservation compiled

by Chrissy Wickes and Sonia Frimmel were Ric Balfour, of Thames, and Nicola Burton, of Auckland, while Mary Thomson, of Christchurch, scooped the delicious Bennetto chocolate hamper.

Forest & Bird

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This quality week-to-view diary features public holidays, and a lay-flat spiral binding.

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Spring 2021

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NATURE NEWS

HIGH COURT WIN FOR TARAKIHI

Forest & Bird has won a precedent-setting legal case about tarakihi catch limits that will have major ramifications for the wider fishing industry.

I

n June, the High Court found that the former Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash made an error of law when deciding the commercial catch limit for East Coast tarakihi in 2019.

The Court found the Minister relied on promises set out in a voluntary Industry Rebuild Plan drafted by commercial fishers. The Minister also failed to correctly apply Ministry policies about rebuild certainty, which should have been treated as the “best available information”.

Tarakihi is a highly soughtafter eating fish, with 90% of the catch sold locally. The East Coast population has been fished down to just 15% of its natural abundance.

In 2018, the Minister decided that the stock should be rebuilt within 10 years. But the following year, after industry lobbying, he extended that to 20 years. He also decided to reduce the commercial East Coast tarakihi catch by only about 10%, when a much larger cut was needed.

Instead of making legally binding catch limits, he relied on an industry promise to rebuild the stock using voluntary measures, such as a commitment to “move on” if too many juveniles were being caught in an area.

Forest & Bird said at the time that a voluntary rebuild plan shouldn’t be allowed to replace an appropriate tarakihi catch limit.

When that advice was ignored, we launched a judicial review of the Minister’s decision – and won!

“The High Court has confirmed fishing decisions must put

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sustainability before the commercial interests of the fishing industry,” said Forest & Bird chief executive Kevin Hague.

“This is a victory for everyone who wants to bring back healthy ecosystems and end inappropriate decision-making that favours commercial fishing industry interests at the expense of nature.

“People talk about how much more fish there used to be in the sea.

The over-exploitation of the tarakihi fishery is an example of what needs to change to bring back nature.”

Forest & Bird was concerned about the Industry Rebuild Plan because it was voluntary and there was no way to determine its impact on fish stocks.

The Ministry for Primary Industry’s own advice to the minister said it was uncertain whether the Industry Rebuild Plan would deliver an accelerated rate of recovery.

“The High Court decision supports Forest & Bird’s position and upholds the importance of the environment and ocean

Wreford Hann

ecosystems,” added Kevin.

The government must now use a scientific approach to manage overfished stocks, rather than relying on voluntary plans and uncertain outcomes offered by industry.

Writing about Forest & Bird’s legal win, commentator Rod Oram said: “It was a very rare win by environmentalists against the seriously flawed fishing Quota Management System.

“It was also a signal that voluntary responses by the fishing industry have very little credibility with the public. The sector is losing its social licence to operate.”

Fisheries Inshore New Zealand has appealed the High Court decision. Forest & Bird will be in the Court of Appeal later this year to defend the case.

A large number of our supporters made a donation to our legal fundraising appeal last year, which meant Forest & Bird could afford to take this important case to court.

SAVE OUR SEAS: A PERSONAL THANK YOU FROM FOREST & BIRD CEO KEVIN HAGUE It’s incredible what Forest & Bird whānau can achieve for nature by working together. Thanks to generous supporters like you, we recently secured the two significant breakthroughs for marine protection in Aotearoa that you are reading about here on these pages. You did this! And the result is stronger protection for our fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. I know restoring our oceans is incredibly important to many New Zealanders, and we still have much work to do in this space. But, today, let’s take time out to express our appreciation and gratitude for what has been achieved. Ngā mihi nui!

FINALLY, CAMERAS ON BOATS – TRANSPARENCY AT SEA

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ceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker has announced plans to roll out cameras across the bulk of the inshore fishing fleet to protect wildlife from being killed as bycatch.

This means inshore fishers who choose to use fishing methods such as long lining, trawling, and set netting will have cameras installed to monitor catches and practices.

Forest & Bird has campaigned on this issue for many years, and we’re delighted that most of New Zealand’s inshore boats will now be fishing transparently – and more carefully.

Royal albatross accidentally caught by commercial fishers.

Ministry for Primary Industries

“It’s been a long time coming and has taken a groundswell of public pressure, but we’ve finally achieved what will be a transformative practice for our fishing industry,” says Forest & Bird chief executive Kevin Hague.

“I’d like to thank all of our supporters in helping us get here.

We should all be proud to have played a very large part in moving the government and the fishing industry to this point.”

Critically endangered species that are sometimes caught and killed by fishers as unwanted “bycatch” include Hector’s dolphins, Antipodean and Gibson’s albatross, and hoiho yellow-eyed penguins. All of these species and many more will be covered by camera monitoring.

It’s great news for New Zealand’s seabirds and marine mammals, but Forest & Bird will continue to campaign for the rest of the New Zealand’s fishing fleet to have cameras too.

“Once the inshore fleet has cameras, the rest of the fishing fleet will need to follow,” says Kevin.

“This is vital if the industry is to re-establish trust with New Zealanders. Too often, what happens at sea is out of sight and out of mind. There is a chronic, widespread problem of illegal misreporting that needs to end.”

Government data on seabird bycatch reporting released under the Official Information Act shows some sectors of the fishing industry

were up to nine times more likely to report bycatch if there was an observer on board.

Forest & Bird obtained data under the Official Information Act showing penguin bycatch in the set net fishery was almost exclusively reported on vessels with observers.

When they put cameras on boats in Australia, the reporting of bycatch and discard rates increased between three and seven times.

Forest & Bird wants to see financial support for inshore fishers to install cameras.

“We know many in the inshore fleet own no quota and fish to very tight margins. Funding should be time-limited to encourage early adoption by the industry,” adds Kevin.

Forest & Bird is campaigning to end bottom trawling. Cartoon courtesy of Sharon Murdoch/Stuff Spring 2021

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NATURE NEWS TAUTUKU SCOOPS HUGE JOBS FOR NATURE GRANT

Gavin White will be employed full time for pest-control work on the project. Graeme Loh

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orest & Bird is stepping up vital conservation work at its Tautuku Ecological Restoration project in the Catlins after being awarded Jobs for Nature funding of more than $577,000 over three years.

Forest & Bird’s Dunedin, South Otago, and Southland branches have been carrying out restoration work in our Lenz Reserve and surrounding publicly owned conservation land for a number of years.

The restoration project currently has traps covering 3000ha, reaching from the beach at Tautuku Bay back into the catchments of the Fleming and Tautuku Rivers. It encompasses regenerating forest,

Tautuku bats will also benefit from the Jobs for Nature funding.

Francesca Cunninghame

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coastal dune forest, and wetlands.

The Jobs for Nature funding will allow the project to expand, and people will be employed to do more predator control and monitoring work in this nature hotspot.

“This new funding will allow us to increase conservation gains across the project area,” says Forest & Bird’s Otago projects manager, Francesca Cunninghame.

The project team will be able to add an additional 1000ha of mustelid and rodent control, as well as targeted possum and feral cat control.

“We will intensify rodent control over a 400ha area that is a hotspot for the critically endangered Tautuku forest gecko,” Francesca added.

“The financial support also means the project will be able to significantly expand control of deer, pigs, and goats across the wider area.”

Monitoring work will be expanded for species such as titipounamu riflemen, mātātā fernbirds, pekepeka long-tailed bats, and a small remnant colony of kororā little blue penguins on the coast.

Australasian bitterns have also been sighted, and monitoring will show whether there is a resident population in the project area.

“We’re very aware we need to know what we’re doing is making a difference for the species we are trying to protect,” Francesca said.

The funding will mean the project’s trapping contractor Gavin White will be employed full time to improve the trap and track network and work on deer and pig control.

Other conservation workers will also be employed for seasonal work doing track maintenance, deer and pig control, and bird and bat monitoring.

WARDENS NEEDED Last summer, seven volunteer wardens helped run Forest & Bird’s Tautuku Forest Cabins in the Lenz Reserve. The management committee is providing the same opportunity to volunteers this summer.

Wardens stay for one or two months and look after the cabins, greet guests, and help with conservation work on the 540ha forest reserve. In their downtime, they can explore the surrounding Catlins and become part of the local community. Last summer’s volunteer wardens Jill and Martin Bonny, of Nelson, enjoyed their time at Tautuku surrounded by korimako, kererū, miromiro, and pipipi, exploring beaches, encountering sea lions, and hiking through the inland beech forest. The Lenz management committee invites applications for this summer’s warden positions – please email tautukucabins@ gmail.com.

Volunteer wardens Jill and Martin Bonny, of Nelson, spent March at Tautuku.

Fergus Sutherland

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NATURE NEWS

Graham Cheesman on his land before he died in 2015.

Chris Stott

CHEESMAN’S BUSH SAFE

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precious ancient stand of unlogged taraire and puriri forest in the heart of our largest city will not be obliterated by a four-lane highway following the government’s decision to drop the Mill Road project, in South Auckland.

This kind of forest once dominated in Auckland, but less than 2% remains in the region. For nearly 20 years, Graham Cheesman nurtured and protected four

THE POWER OF ONE

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our leading environmental organisations have joined Forest & Bird in urging the government to defend native species and human health by setting a nitrate pollution limit of less than 1mg/litre in our waterways.

Whitewater NZ joined Greenpeace, the Environmental Defence Society, Choose Clean Water, and Forest & Bird in a joint call for a <1 nitrogen limit for freshwater.

A maximum nitrate limit was left out of last year’s freshwater standards, following industry demands. This decision is now being reassessed by the Ministry for the Environment and Minister David Parker.

The major causes of nitrate pollution are a huge increase in dairy cows and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use since 1990.

Forest & Bird freshwater advocate Annabeth Cohen says: “We all want to be able to see our local rivers flourishing with life, full of native fish and insects, and

hectares of this precious forest habitat on his private land. The new road would have cut across Cheesman’s land, destroying part of the mature forest gully.

Forest & Bird and our friends at the Tree Council went to the Environment Court in 2015/16 to try to save the bush. We succeeded in getting the bridge lengthened significantly to reduce the impact on the gully, and most of the trees would be kept, although still hugely impacted by the shading from the proposed motorway bridge.

Graham Cheesman died in 2015 and never knew the outcome of the court case. But his family still own the land and say the towering trees are still standing in Graham’s honour.

Lindsey Britton, Graham Falla, and others from Forest & Bird’s South Auckland Branch were closely involved with helping fight for Cheesman’s Bush, and both attended the Environment Court hearing with our general counsel Peter Anderson.

“This is a lovely piece of bush, and the huge trees were well worth saving,” says Lindsey. “Graham dedicated his life to preserving his land, and I’m sure he would have been delighted to know his legacy lives on today.”

surrounded by bush and birdsong.

“We urge the government to accept the scientific consensus that ecosystem health isn’t possible if nitrate pollution in waterways exceeds 1 mg/L. Ashburton River, in “This is a conservative Canterbury.

Caroline Wood standard of freshwater quality, despite what agri-industry would have New Zealand believe.”

Marnie Prickett, of Choose Clean Water, added: “Many regional councils already manage nitrate pollution to more stringent levels. Horizons Regional Council is keeping to 0.44 mg/L, while Hawke’s Bay Regional Council set their limit at 0.8 mg/L. “It’s not a big ask to set a nitrate limit under one.”

TE MANU RONGONUI O TE TAU

Yes, the annual squawk-fest that is Bird of the Year takes flight on 18 October, with the winner announced on Monday, 1 November. Here is a sneak peak of this year’s Allbirds limited edition shoe that was inspired by last year’s kākāpō winner and will be available in early October. Thanks to all of our other Bird of the Year sponsors, including Allbirds, Metalbird, Honeywraps, Bennetto Chocolate, and Ecostore. Keep in touch with all of this year’s birdy scandal, memes, and dodgy voting at https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz or on our Facebook page.

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This photograph of Jeanette Fitzsimons inspired the composer’s project.

Bev Short

MUSIC MEETS CONSERVATION

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orest & Bird has teamed up with the Performing Arts Community Trust (PACT) to offer a chamber music composition scholarship for a young composer aged 25 or under. Applicants will compose a work for a chamber music ensemble inspired by any aspect of Forest & Bird’s role in protecting and restoring New Zealand’s wildlife and wild places over the past 100 years. The successful candidate will receive a $500 scholarship to get their composition concert ready.

It may also be recorded by Atholl Records, alongside other original works being created by seven established composers already involved in this exciting project.

For details, see http://canz.net.nz/noticeboard/ or contact pactnz@gmail.com.

PLANTING FOR SUCCESS Forest & Bird’s Wellington and Lower Hutt branches have teamed up to open a new native plant nursery in Wainuiomata. It will grow plants for local conservation groups to plant in the surrounding forest, which is being restored for future kiwi and kākāpo translocations.

Project organiser Gary James said the new nursery will complement Wellington’s existing Forest & Bird nursery, which grows up to 30,000 plants a year for local community projects. Forest & Bird volunteers and representatives from Greater Wellington Council attended the official opening of the nursery at the end of July and planted 300 trees on the nearby wetland.

TRIP OF A LIFETIME WINNER The lucky winner of Forest & Bird’s Footsteps on Conservation Heritage fundraising tour worth $4,365 was Becca Baynton, of Christchurch. She has won an awe-inspiring trip to some of the most beautiful parts of the country. This season’s fundraising trips, organised by our President Mark Hanger, have sold like hotcakes but there are still a few places left. For details, contact markhanger@naturequest.co.nz.

HONEYWRAP COMPETITION The winner of the Honeywrap design competition in the last issue was Keren MacFadgen, of Nelson, with her gorgeous whio design. As well as scooping a great prize pack, Keren’s design will help raise funds for Forest & Bird, with $1 from sales of the limited edition wrap being donated to help support our conservation work. The company’s reusable, compostable beeswax wraps designed by local artists are part of a quiet revolution ridding the world of unnecessary plastic food wrap. You can buy the new whio design at Forest & Bird’s online shop https://shop.forestandbird.org.nz.

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Nursery project leader Gary James at Forest & Bird’s Wellington nursery.

Caroline Wood

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Spring 2021

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NATURE NEWS The steep cliffs of the Sandymount tītī colony mean predator control is physically challenging.

Francesca Cunninghame

SEABIRD SUCCESS

Forest & Bird’s Bring Back the Seabirds Otago project saw 65+ sooty shearwater chicks safely fledge and head out to sea this year.

Francesca Cunninghame

T

he remnant tītī colony at Sandymount is of regional significance, being the second largest on the Otago Peninsula and one of the biggest on the mainland.

There are an estimated 200 tītī or sooty shearwater burrows on the cliff top high above the ocean.

Forest & Bird’s seabird restoration project started at Sandymount in 2016, and a predator trap network was established in 2017, with additional traps and burrow cameras installed in 2018/19.

We knew protecting the colony from introduced species predation would be very challenging. The adult birds, their eggs, and their chicks are exceptionally vulnerable to predation for more than seven months a year as they arrive, nest, and raise their chicks.

Over the first three breeding seasons (2016–19), no chicks fledged, and all the failures were linked to ferrets, stoats, rats, and hedgehogs killing eggs and chicks.

This recent season has been the

A stoat captured by one of the project’s trail cameras entering a burrow.

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most successful to date! For the second year running, we have seen chicks successfully fledge their nest burrows – and in record numbers.

We were incredibly lucky once again to have the support of Paul Gasson and his conservation dog Dillon, who swiftly found active burrows during the incubation stage. We then used trail cameras and burrow scoping to determine whether nests had eggs/chicks in them.

At the end of the 2019 season, we were devastated to find a single ferret had killed all the chicks just prior to fledging. Trail camera footage captured the culprit. It was a sobering reminder of the damage a single predator can cause.

Since then, we have increased our monitoring to include banding the tītī to help obtain a better understanding of their long-term survival.

Last year, although the Covid-19 lockdown prohibited access to the colony, at least 30 chicks fledged and 16 were banded.

This year, we intensified trapping during the critical fledging period and caught several predators.

We are delighted to report that 65 tītī chicks were banded, and many more will have fledged on the nights the field team were unable to be at the site.

The chicks have all left the colony and crossed to the north-east Pacific on their migration. These juvenile birds will not come back to land for four years. They face a myriad of threats at sea, including being killed as fishing bycatch.

An adult tītī awaits banding.

Francesca Cunninghame

We hope that over future years some of the banded birds (81 to date) will return in September/ October and breed at the colony.

Our trail cameras have been critical in helping us understand the ongoing effects from predators.

Thank you to the Forest & Bird readers who helped fund additional cameras after reading previous articles about the project.

Ngā mihi nui also to this year’s 32 dedicated volunteers, Ōtākou Rūnaka, DOC Coastal Otago, and the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group for supporting our project.

Francesca Cunninghame is Forest & Bird’s Otago seabirds project manager and is based in Dunedin.

ADVERTORIAL

COVER The last sighting of a South Island kōkako was more than 50 years ago. This specimen was collected in Martin’s Bay, Fiordland, sometime before 1936 by William Smyth.

Auckland Museum

SHH, LISTEN...

ARE YOU OUT THERE, GREY GHOST? 14

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High-tech methods, including eDNA and bioacoustics, are being deployed as the search ramps up for the South Island’s kōkako.

Inger Perkins and Dr Euan Kennedy

U

ntil doomed to silence by the first human footprint on our ancient sands, New Zealand’s forests were soaring cathedrals of birdsong.

From the high-vaulted forest galleries, the kōkako’s rich, shifting harmonics transcended other voices in the chorus.

Today, we hear them more as a lament for a paradise lost. But the calls of this ancient wattlebird, a true indigene of Aotearoa, can still transfix.

Ask anyone who hears North Island kōkako call, and they’ll likely say: “It stopped me dead in my tracks.”

Sadly, the South Island kōkako, a separate species, was formally declared extinct by the Department of Conservation in 2007. It has been more than 50 years since the last officially accepted sighting at Mt Aspiring in 1967.

But some of us believe the South Island kōkako avoided extinction and still survives deep in a backcountry forest far from ready detection.

The South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust has been listening intently for its voice in our southern forests for more than a decade.

Backcountry users of all kinds pass on reports of possible encounters with kōkako, from Rakiura to the top of the South Island.

“It is remarkable how many say they were halted by the calls,” says Trustee Ron Nilsson, who collates the Trust’s growing database of reports. There have been nearly 700 so far since the Trust first started counting in 2010.

But it is seeking more than calls as evidence that the South Island kōkako has avoided extinction.

Other native birds such as kākā, korimako bellbirds, and tūī can sound very similar, even to ears

Since launching the wanted poster campaign in 2017, there have been 260 “new encounter” reports but no solid evidence that kōkako have survived in the South Island’s forests.

keenly attuned to kōkako after decades of listening and looking.

The Trust’s $10,000 reward campaign has yielded 260 new encounter reports since launching in 2017. Some have included photographs and videos.

Absolutely irrefutable evidence of survival remains elusive, but compelling reports, especially from experienced observers, argue for intensifying our efforts to locate the birds.

Mobilising the backcountry public has expanded the search effort significantly. We keep these new kōkako eyes and ears informed through an appealing interactive map created by GIS volunteer Jordan Miller. We add the latest credible encounter reports to the map on the Trust’s website.

By 2019, field teams, the Department of Conservation, and volunteers of all kinds had accumulated countless hours of sound recordings.

Could computer analysis of these reveal more accurately than the human ear where solitary kōkako or small groups might persist?

Volunteer Chris Blackbourn developed bespoke software capable of detecting the characteristic pattern of kōkako calls in spectrograms. His software processed more than 400 hours of recordings in just a few days.

Alas, to no avail.

Chris and DOC processed more recordings using artificial intelligence to improve analytical speed and accuracy. They found one single recording from eastern Kahurangi National Park that suggested the likely presence of kōkako.

This promising development requires further interpretation before we commit to follow-up field surveys.

We have been using other high-tech methods to search for South Island kōkako. In 2020, the Trust invited Dr Lara Urban and Professor Neil Gemmell, of the University of Otago, and their collaborator, the Wellington company Wilderlab, to include the South Island kōkako in conservation applications of environmental DNA Lara Urban (eDNA) analysis.

The researchers were enthusiastic to test whether this new science could detect traces of kōkako DNA in water samples from target catchments.

Early results from pools and streams in the Granville Forest and Waiuta/Big River Track (near Reefton) reveal plenty of biodiversity. But a tighter focus on Spring 2021

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Volunteer Louie Zalk-Neale takes a water sample for eDNA analysis in the hope of finding traces of grey ghost DNA in the water catchment.

This North Island kōkako’s blue wattles have been digitally altered to show people what the orange-wattled South Island kōkako, might look like.

TM Davidson

birds detected only blackbirds and thrushes.

Results from samples taken from sites of interest in South Westland have just been returned from Wilderlab. Although there is still no evidence of kōkako, a grey warbler has been detected, indicating that the science is working in the search for native birds.

Further samples taken on the Heaphy Track (Kahurangi National Park) and Buttress Stream (Abel Tasman National Park) are awaiting analysis.

We will assist Lara, Neil, and the Wilderlab team to refine the method and analysis through further eDNA sampling.

Calibrating the method using known North Island kōkako populations is in hand.

If effective, eDNA offers our kōkako search a simple, costeffective means of surveying entire catchments for evidence of the species.

Our website and newsletters will publish the results.

Unexpectedly, mathematics has emerged as another survey tool this year.

The Trust could not say yes fast enough when Professor Stephen

Marsland, of Victoria University, explained how the arcane science of numbers could help to locate South Island kōkako.

Stephen had a key role in creating AviaNZ, the first analytical software for native bird calls.

Recently, the National Geographic Society supported him with funding for the use of bioacoustics in the search.

This is just what we needed to boost our reach. It will lift automated analysis of field recordings to new heights.

Stephen proposes to install 50 bioacoustic recorders on grids at potential kōkako sites selected by the Trust from its database of encounter reports.

He will analyse recordings from early spring and summer for matches, with all likely permutations of South Island kōkako calls determined mathematically from North Island kōkako vocalising.

These new technologies keep hope alive. They bring systematic rigour to our kōkako cause.

Previously, detecting the bird has relied on chance encounters, needle-in-the-haystack surveys of the wilderness and the judgement of individual searchers.

Time is very short for the South Island kōkako if it still survives, and the Trust is keen to explore the potential of further technologies.

Trust Chair Nigel Babbage is unapologetic about the Trust’s commitment to finding the bird.

“We want to bring its melodious

Professor Stephen Marsland is installing 50 bioacoustic recorders on grids at potential kōkako sites and using mathematics to analyse the results.

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voice back to our southern forests.

It has been silenced for too long.

We will do our utmost to avoid the extinction of this long-neglected ancient New Zealander.”

To listen to the call of kōkako and for latest sightings and updates, see www. southislandkokako.org.

Considered a separate species since 2001, the North Island kōkako (Callaeas wilsoni) has blue wattles, while the South Island kōkako (C. cinereus) has orange wattles. Image: JG Keulemans, in WL Buller’s A History of the Birds of New Zealand, published 1888.

Inger Perkins is a former DOC ranger and current manager of the South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust. Dr Euan Kennedy is a retired DOC scientist and Trustee of the South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust.

OPINION

NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

Forest & Bird’s general counsel Peter Anderson and resource management lawyer Erika Toleman explain why the replacement legislation for the Resource Management Act is worse for nature than current laws.

F

orest & Bird believe that, as currently drafted, the Natural and Built Environments Bill should be rejected. It is a retrograde step in resource management law. In fact, it would be preferable to retain the current Resource Management Act, with some amendments as necessary.

As we all know, our environment has not fared well under the RMA. Nature is in serious trouble: 4000 of our native species are threatened or at risk of extinction, and the extinction risk is worsening for many species.

Development pressure on our natural resources is widespread. Land use change is degrading soil and water, while urban growth is reducing versatile land and biodiversity. Our waterways are suffering from farming pollution and irrigation, and urban areas are polluting our freshwater. The way we fish is impacting ocean health, and climate change is already affecting our country.

Humans depend on nature. Our social and economic outcomes all rely on a natural world that is healthy and functioning well. What we now need is a step change, to clearly prioritise the protection of the environment that we all depend on – for all of our sakes, and for the intrinsic values the natural environment holds.

Instead, what the Natural and Built Environments Act will deliver is a big step backwards.

That backwards step is seen in the purpose of the Act, which lacks any clear requirement to protect nature or the natural environment, much less any priority towards ensuring that the environment that we all depend on is safeguarded first.

Not only is this inevitably going to fail the environment – safeguarding the environment is always the underdog when there’s the possibility of votewinning new development – but it is also not going to

deliver on the government’s objective of having a more efficient resource management system.

The legislation itself needs to set the priority, so New Zealand’s development is truly sustainable. That priority must be that the environment is safeguarded first.

In our view, environmental and efficiency outcomes would be better served by retaining the RMA and fixing the plan-making provisions.

But we recognise that the NBA is likely to be passed in some form.

As such, it needs to be amended to include a much more ambitious Erika Toleman purpose – a purpose that prioritises the protection of our finite natural environment before use and development.

The NBA needs to require meaningful limits that actually force a changed approach to the way we’ve used natural resources in the past. It requires a hierarchy in the outcomes that puts the natural environment Peter Anderson first and foremost, and this must be entrenched in the primary legislation.

This article is drawn from Forest & Bird’s detailed submission on the exposure draft of the Natural and Built Environments Act. Our legal and RMA specialists are preparing to appear in front of Parliament’s environment select committee later this year. Forest & Bird’s full submission is available at www.forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/law-bringback-nature.

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NO NEW MINES

COAL MUST GO! As Forest & Bird launches a landmark legal case for future generations, youth leader Gemma Marnane explains why she is standing up to stop a new coal mine in her home town. Caroline Wood

I

n August, papers were quietly served on Southland the extension of the coal mine in the Nightcaps/Ohai District Council seeking a judicial review of its area, I couldn’t believe it. I felt quite distressed,” adds decision allowing Bathurst Resources to explore for Gemma, who is a former Southland District Council an expansion of a coal mine on publicly owned land youth representative. near Nightcaps.

Her great-grandparents farmed in the Nightcaps/ Forest & Bird’s legal case claims that the Southland Ohai area, and her family still live in the region.

District Council made the decision unlawfully because Gemma’s parents both worked in the Nightcaps mine it failed to properly consider the implications of climate before she was born. change and the impact climate change will have on “I’m against this mine, despite my family’s the district, including for future generations. previous involvement in the industry. It’s clear Seventeen-year-old George Hobson and to me that coal mining has to stop. There are Gemma Marnane, aged 20, both Forest no long-term benefits economically or for & Bird Youth leaders, provided affidavits nature. Protecting the climate and nature in support of the legal case, which is needs to come first.” being led by our in-house lawyers and In April, Southland District Council regional advocacy teams. granted New Brighton Collieries, a subsidiary “I grew up in the town of Nightcaps of Bathurst Resources, access for coal and have a strong connection to exploration to a council-owned forestry block Gemma Marnane Southland and its communities. I know between Nightcaps and Ohai. youth in my community are fearful of the “I was surprised the council had kept impacts of the climate and biodiversity it private rather than engaging with the crisis,” says Gemma, who is studying community before the process was set in journalism at Massey University. motion,” adds Gemma, who joined Forest & “It’s our future, and the future of coming Bird Youth a year ago. generations, that will be the most impacted “Although mining has been important by global warming. Our elected decisioneconomically and socially in the past, the makers need to step up and tackle these threats world has changed a lot. Coal mining is not a head on.” sustainable future for the Nightcaps area or George Hobson Internationally, young people are taking Southland generally. governments to court – and winning – over their “Nightcaps, for example, is economically very failure to adequately address climate change. There is deprived, even though the mine has been operating for increasing recognition that future generations have a many years. Expanding the coal mine is a short-term right to live in a world not devastated by a climate crisis. move that ignores the reality of Southland’s need for a “When I saw the news article talking about plans for sustainable future.”

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Takitimu coal mine, Nightcaps, Southland.

David Russell

NO NEW MINES PETITION In July, Forest & Bird Youth led a call of nine New Zealand environmental organisations urging Southland District Council to reconsider its decision to allow access for exploration.

“The climate and biodiversity crises threaten future generations,” says Forest & Bird Youth’s head of campaigns George Hobson.

“Young people are scared about what their lives will look like in 50 years. We are calling on the council to recognise the contribution that further coal exploration will have to these inter-generational threats.

“We want them to understand that young people deserve a future which is not threatened by sea level rise, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events.”

Forest & Bird’s Southland and South Otago branches are also supporting Forest & Bird’s legal case.

Jane Young, South Otago branch chair and author of Fuelling Dissension, NZ Coal Mining in the 21st Century, said: “The government may have declared a state of climate emergency, but Southland District Council doesn’t seem to have grasped the fact that continuing to support an industry that is doing active harm to our country and our planet is, to say the least, shortsighted.

“Coal mining is not a reliable source of employment, as seen during the debacle of Solid Energy’s collapse. In 2014, after a protracted legal battle, Bathurst succeeded in opening the Escarpment mine on the Buller Plateau, along with the promise of lots of jobs. But coal prices nosedived, and a year later the mine was mothballed.

“Bathurst has been in the red for most of its existence and has only once made a tiny payout to shareholders.”

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Please give a gift today and help Forest & Bird campaign for no new mines and a healthier climate – see www.forestandbird.org.nz/no-more-coal.

Forest & Bird has launched a national petition calling for no new coal mines to be allowed in Aotearoa.

“As a developed nation, we must take responsibility for our overall contribution to keeping warming to safe levels,” says Kevin Hague, Forest & Bird’s chief executive.

“The coal industry already has years of consented mining. Allowing new or expanded coal mines through the 2020s could lock us into high-emissions scenarios for decades to come.”

A global strategy setting out a pathway to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 was set out in a recent International Energy Agency report. It requires no new oil and gas fields and no new coal mines or mine extensions from 2021.

But here in New Zealand there are proposals for new opencast coal mines on the West Coast, as well as in Southland.

Forest & Bird has spent decades trying to protect the ecologically diverse Buller Plateau, including Happy Valley, the now inactive Escarpment mine, and Te Kuha from coal mining operations. www.forestandbird.org.nz/petitions/no-newcoal-mines. Please encourage your friends and whānau to sign too.

Stockton Mine.

Neil Silverwood

BIODIVERSITY

Sunset over Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island from Mt Heale Hut.

TOP TRAMPING HUTS

Shaun Barnett chooses six of his favourite backcountry huts that make great bases for nature-spotting.

T

he backcountry of Aotearoa has almost 1000 public huts scattered around our mountains, among our forests, and beside our wild coastlines. This diverse collection of huts ranges from tiny, dirt-floored shelters originally built for mustering or gold mining through to modern, comfortable, large huts built by the Department of Conservation (DOC).

While this extraordinary hut and track network is hugely important for outdoor recreation, it also plays a significant role in helping protect biodiversity. A large portion of the existing hut network was originally built during the 1950s and 1960s for deer culling. Today, huts are once again providing much-needed shelter for the army of rangers, volunteers, and conservationists working towards Predator Free 2050.

Here are six huts that make great tramping destinations and are also located in areas where biodiversity projects are taking place.

MT HEALE HUT, AOTEA GREAT BARRIER ISLAND DOC made an inspired decision when it built Mt Heale Hut in 2010. Situated in a stunning position beneath the spire-like Mt Heale, with commanding views across the western bays of Aotea Great Barrier Island and across to Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island, the 20-bunk hut makes a great overnight tramping base to explore the surrounding area from.

Until very recently, it’s fair to say the hut had a disappointing number of visitors – despite Aotea’s close proximity to our largest city. Now, however, with closed international borders, many Aucklanders are visiting Aotea for the first time and discovering the tracks and excellent birdlife of our sixth largest island.

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With no possums or mustelids, birdlife on Aotea is abundant, and trampers often hear kākā.

An excellent way to approach Mt Heale Hut is to begin on the Windy Canyon Track and climb through regenerating forest onto the summit of the island’s highest point, Hirakimata Mt Hobson. Here, a viewing platform offers outstanding views, and boardwalks protect the habitat of the taiko black petrels that nest here during the spring and summer. The Great Barrier Island Environmental Trust traps rats to help safeguard these rare seabirds.

A series of steps leads down to Mt Heale Hut. After a night there, tramp along the Peach Grove Track, pausing to enjoy a soak in the Kaitoke Hot Springs, before ending your trip near Claris.

Rangiwahia Hut, Ruahine Forest Park, Manawatū.

RANGIWAHIA HUT, RUAHINE FOREST PARK, MANAWATŪ Ruahine Forest Park boasts one of the highest number of huts of any park in the country. These are not only a

boon for trampers and hunters but also the members of the Ruahine Whio Protectors who service a network of traps in the range to protect whio blue duck and other native birds.

Rangiwahia Hut occupies a spot just above the bushline on the western side of the range, with views towards the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park.

The 12-bunk hut is the fourth one on site, the latest in a succession of mustering, ski, and tramping huts.

Accessible via an excellent, family-friendly track, which takes only one and a half to two hours from the Renfrew Road carpark, the hut is a popular overnight destination and must be booked ahead for the summer months.

Above the hut, a poled route leads over the tops of the Whanahuia Range, with regular pest-control traps alongside. Karearea New Zealand falcon often scout for prey along these tops. It’s possible to make a circuit back to the carpark along the Deadmans Track.

Cupola Basin Hut, Nelson Lakes National Park, Nelson.

CUPOLA HUT, NELSON LAKES NATIONAL PARK Nelson Lakes National Park protects the glaciercarved valleys, lakes, and mountains in what is the northernmost extent of the Southern Alps. Of the many alpine basins in the large park, perhaps the finest is Cupola Basin: a high tussock shelf dwarfed by Mounts Hopeless and Cupola.

In the 1960s, the Forest Service and Ecology Division of DSIR built a hut at the bushline, which scientists used as a base for studying the area. Once the studies concluded, national park rangers converted Cupola Hut into a trampers’ and climbers’ haven. It’s reached from

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Turere Lodge, Remutaka Forest Park, Wellington.

TURERE LODGE, REMUTAKA FOREST PARK, WELLINGTON Wellington’s popular Ōrongorongo Valley harbours a greater concentration of huts than anywhere else in New Zealand. While most of the huts are private, there are a number of public huts available for booking, including Turere Lodge. The large and comfortable hut, occupying a terrace surrounded by northern rātā and other native trees, has four bunkrooms and a communal kitchen and living area. It’s very popular on weekends and holidays, so a bunkroom must be booked well in advance.

The lodge is adjacent to a major conservation programme, managed by the Remutaka Trust.

Hundreds of volunteers service a large network of traplines, and the population of kiwi has grown steadily since they were first introduced in 2005. Pōpokatea whitehead, tītipounamu rifleman, tūī, korimako bellbird, kererū, and karearea also frequent the area, and benefit from the trapping programme.

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BIODIVERSITY

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the Travers Valley, near John Tait Hut, where a wellmarked track leaves the main valley and climbs up to the tidy eight-bunk hut, taking about two and a half to three hours. Beyond the hut, a cairned route leads up into the basin above, where there is an abundance of alpine plants.

Since the 1990s, DOC’s Revive Rotoiti project has operated in the Travers Valley and surrounds, where pest control efforts help protect local populations of roroa great spotted kiwi, kea, and other forest birds.

Ces Clark Hut and Southern Alps, Paparoa Range, West Coast.

Nina Hut, Lake Sumner Forest Park, Canterbury.

NINA HUT, LAKE SUMNER FOREST PARK, CANTERBURY This is another well-positioned hut, set in the beech forest of the Nina Valley, with views of the nearby mountains. Beginning from State Highway 7, near Lewis Pass, a well-marked tramping track leads up the valley, through beech forest and past burbling mountain streams, before crossing the Nina River on a swing bridge and beginning the final climb to the hut.

Altogether, it takes about three hours from the road.

The comfortable 12-bunk hut occupies a small clearing, surrounded by stunted mountain beech forest, wispy with lichens. Visitors often see tiny tītipounamu flitting through the forest, and toutouwai South Island robin are usually present too. Since 2012, students from Hurunui High School have been helping run a trapping programme in the valley, supported by DOC, to help native birds, particularly roroa, kea, and whio. At dusk, it’s worth listening for the shrill calls of kiwi from the deck of the hut.

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CES CLARK HUT, PAPAROA TRACK, WEST COAST. Paparoa Track, the newest of our Great Walks, was opened in 2020 after a tremendous effort to create this dual mountain biking and tramping track. Beginning from Blackball, the 55km track crosses the Paparoa Range to end at Punakaiki. The first part of the track actually follows an old gold-mining track called the Croesus, which was redeveloped in the 1980s as a tramping track. That’s when Ces Clark Hut was built, named after a local ranger involved in the effort. It’s now one of three huts on the Paparoa Track and offers tremendous views of the Southern Alps, stretching from Nelson Lakes to as far south as Aoraki Mt Cook.

While often used as a lunch spot for trampers and bikers headed to Moonlight Hut, Ces Clark also makes an excellent overnight destination. Booking is essential for the 16-bunk hut. Allow four to five hours to reach the hut from the Smoke-ho carpark. En route, it’s worth making a 30-minute diversion to visit the impressive stamper battery in Garden Gully – a relic from the goldmining days. Members of the Paparoa Wildlife Trust are making efforts to protect a local population of roroa.

Shaun Barnett is a long-time Forest & Bird member and co-author of A Bunk for the Night, A Guide to New Zealand’s Best Backcountry Huts, with Rob Brown and Geoff Spearpoint. First published in 2016 by Potton and Burton, it was recently updated with a new 2021 edition.

F U T U R E O F FA R M I N G

Cows up to their knees in mud on a privately owned Otago farm in July. Geoff Reid

COWS IN MUD

We talk to animals rights and environmental activist Angus Robson, who has been co-leading a campaign to stop intensive winter grazing on New Zealand’s farms.

A

ngus Robson wants to see government ministers step up and end the environmental and animal welfare impacts of intensive winter grazing.

Since Angus, Geoff Reid, and Matt Coffey launched their campaign more than five years ago, raising awareness with horrific images of cows giving birth in mud, things have improved, but the practice is still being used, especially in Southland, Otago, Canterbury, and the West Coast.

Intensive winter grazing sees farmers feeding cows, sheep, and deer during the winter months by confining herds to small paddocks where a single crop has been planted. The animals are left there until the groundcover has been grazed down to bare mud.

As well as the animal welfare issues, intensive winter grazing degrades the environment and leads to high quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, and pathogens entering surface and groundwater.

Following media coverage in 2019, which resulted in a strong public backlash, the government promised to improve welfare and environmental outcomes, and farmers pledged to make improvements for 2021.

The team followed up from June to August this year, taking photos from the roadsides of cows living in mud and pollution entering waterways.

“The good farmers have got better, but the laggards have made no improvements,” says Angus.

“We still have up to 30% of farms with serious pollution during rainfall events. This is down from around 60%, but there remains a lot of work to do.”

The team is concerned that councils, and in particular Environment Southland, are not doing enough to monitor the issue. Angus also wants to see state-owned Pāmu, the country’s largest farmer, lead by example and fi end winter grazing altogether.

Earlier this year, the farming sector agreed to make immediate improvements to intensive winter grazing practices for the 2021 winter season.

In return, the government deferred for a year the introduction of intensive winter grazing regulations.

They are due to come into effect in late 2022.

“In terms of the environment, councils aren’t doing their jobs to enforce current rules, and the Minister and Ministry for the Environment should be making sure they do this,” adds Angus.

“For the animals, we need a welfare inspectorate and inspectors in the field checking on the animals’ wellbeing.

“I would like to see farmers destock. When there are too many cows, they have to bring in a whole lot of food to help them survive. This ends up overloading the land, creating mud that the animals then have to live in.”

WHAT IS FOREST & BIRD DOING? We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the country’s largest farmer, state-owned Pāmu, and sit on the company’s Environmental Reference Group advising on nature-friendly farming methods. Last October, the Environmental Reference Group wrote to Pāmu chief executive Steve Carden and Chair Warren Parker urging them to “do better” and commit to ending intensive winter grazing on their farms. The group made a detailed a series of recommendations for how the farms could transition away from the practice. Tom Kay, Forest & Bird’s freshwater advocate, recently visited two Pāmu farms in Southland to see what progress was being made.

How is Pāmu moving its farms out of intensive winter grazing? See overleaf.

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F U T U R E O F FA R M I N G Pāmu’s Environmental Reference Group, including Forest & Bird’s Tom Kay, visited Southland farms in July to advise on how best to transition away from intensive winter grazing.

Tom Kay

CHANGING FARMSCAPES

The largest farming operation in New Zealand is phasing out intensive winter grazing. Cathie Bell talks to two Pāmu farmers about how they are doing it.

W

hen Pāmu announced it would move to end Farm several years ago. Today, the farm has no winter intensive winter grazing for many of its cropping. farms, it was “a good day”, according to one The shift meant changing the ratio of animals at of its farm managers, Travis Leslie.

Kepler from 80% sheep to 50% sheep and and 50% cattle.

The state-owned farmer, formerly known as There have been some real improvements in animal Landcorp, announced in September last year that it health and production, especially in sheep, he says. would significantly reduce the effects of intensive The farm uses a long-grass (deferred grazing) winter grazing over the next three years. It means no system that sees animals eat pasture all year round, and winter cropping on many of the company’s it seems they need to eat less than they did properties. on the intensive winter crops.

Pāmu says it is focusing on the wettest, Sheep crop better on grass, explains We have to make Travis, and the farm no longer uses most climatically challenging areas for the changes we pasture-only farming and will be seeking pesticides as it isn’t growing crops. need to, or we a 55% reduction in the use of intensively It hasn’t lost any income with the won’t be farming grazed winter crops area on the West Coast, changes, and Travis says getting rid of 60% in Canterbury, and 35% on its Otago intensive winter cropping has improved dairy cows in farms by 2023. staff lives too. this area much Travis Leslie manages Kepler Farm in “When the farm was cropping, weekends longer. the Te Anau basin. For him, the policy is a had 30 hours rostered on. It was basically a no-brainer. seven-day operation,” he said.

“I came out of the north. We didn’t do a “We have one person rostered on now. lot of cropping up there. It was always a foreign thing They just drive around to see everything is OK. Thirty to me. The scale of it in Southland is quite interesting,” hours down to three. That’s massive. I don’t think he said. anyone here would go back to winter cropping.”

He started reducing the amount of winter cropping However, he recognises that not all farms will be able and the number of animals that needed it at Kepler to follow suit, as everyone is different.

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“The thing is, even farms next door to us here in Southland are different. What works for us might not work for others,” he adds.

Justin Pigou is the Waitepeka area dairy support business manager for Pāmu. He is in charge of two dairy farms and a dairy support block just south of Balclutha.

His operation is moving out of winter cropping and into barns, providing shelter and feed for cows during the winter. Justin has three barns, housing about 480 of their 1350 cows, and is looking to build more.

There are benefits to housing the cattle in barns, both environmentally and for farm efficiency, he said.

Cows can destroy 50% of winter crop in bad weather by pushing it into the ground. Putting cows in barns overnight means they don’t have to be fed extra food.

It also means farmers can take cows off paddocks at other times of year too – for example, when there are bad weather events in shoulder seasons.

The barns also help control the release of nutrients into groundwater, with the effluent being held over winter before being spread out onto paddocks when conditions are right and sent out over a large area.

Justin Pigou said there were “a fair few” barns being built around Otago and Southland. However, the majority of farms probably aren’t in a position to spend $1m on a barn, and they need to be well managed too.

“You can have animal welfare issues in a composting barn. All these things need to use best practice, good monitoring, and good processes,” he said.

Mark Julian, Pāmu’s general manager for dairy operations, and Steve Tickner, its general manager for livestock operations, are jointly responsible for the policy to phase out intensive winter grazing.

Mark said Pāmu has been working through the company’s operations, farm by farm, to look at how each could work without intensive winter grazing.

“Some farms we’ve looked at, we would never winter crop again, the way their soils react.”

However, a number of things need to be balanced in each farm operation to make sure the right methods are being used, including animal welfare, soil types, environmental issues, and staff wellbeing – as well as financial sustainability.

“We’re trying to be proactive around challenging farmers with change but taking them with us. We want to be far enough in front that people are challenged but not alienated.”

Some farmers couldn’t change, he said, because of issues around succession, generational change, and debt making it hard for them.

In the past, Pāmu has sent some animals to other farms to overwinter, and Justin Pigou says there are some farmers whose whole operation is geared to winter grazing, and it formed the majority of their income.

“Those guys were going to have to rejig their system

Tom Kay Otago dairy farm manager Justin Pigou is building $1m barns on his Pāmu farms to feed and shelter cows during winter.

Supplied

and look at other operations,” he said.

“We have to make the changes we need to, or we won’t be farming dairy cows in this area much longer.

Get used to it. Change is coming.”

International markets were more and more aware of farming systems and their effects, he said.

“It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also a necessity.

You’re beholden to these markets. If you want to be there, that’s what you have to do.”

Travis Leslie echoes this, saying: “It doesn’t matter how we do things here. It’s how the world sees us when it wants to buy things. Pāmu has the size, scale, and scope to do it.

“The stakes might not be as high for us as some, but we’re much more in the public eye. We operate with an almost unreasonable level of scrutiny.”

But he sees the changes as an opportunity.

“We’re in this really good period of change in farming. The next ten years, we’re really going to start performing. We’ve got the technology, and the genetics, to pull it off.”

Pāmu farmer Travis Leslie has ended intensive winter grazing at Kepler Farm, in Southland.

Supplied

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C L I M AT E

Garvey Creek running through native forest south of Reefton, West Coast. The stream's orange colour is caused by coal mine pollution.

Neil Silverwood

HELEN CLARK’S CLIMATE AOTEAROA In conversation with Forest & Bird’s chief executive Kevin Hague, former Prime Minister Helen Clark joins the dots between the climate crisis biodiversity and human health.

KH: = Kevin Hague HC = Helen Clark KH: You’re someone that we all know enjoys the outdoors, as well as being a passionate advocate for conservation. When you get out into the outdoors in Aotearoa nowadays, what do you observe about the environment?

HC: I’m a great outdoors lover and grew up on the

border of the Pirongia Forest Park, in the Waikatao, and from the time I was a small child I was aware there wasn’t too much birdsong in the forest. The native pigeon was very seldom seen. I never saw or heard a kiwi in Pirongia in my childhood during the 1950s. A kōkako had been seen by my grandfather, but my father, who is now 99, never saw or heard one. Thank heavens community action with the Department of Conservation has now brought it back. I suppose a revelation for me, when I was Minister of Conservation back in 1989/90, I went to Kāpiti island and the birdsong was overpowering and that was such a dramatic illustration to me about what our country had lost.

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KH: When I think about some of Forest & Bird’s campaigns – agricultural reform, no new coal mines, restoration of native forests and wetlands, protecting mangroves, healthy marine ecosystems – these are all campaigns that combine biodiversity and climate change benefits. When you reflect on what you see around the world, do you think we are generally making that connection successfully – between biodiversity and the climate crisis?

Helen Clark

Kevin Hague

HC: Not enough, and there’s another connection I want to touch on and that’s the health and climate change connection. The warming climate is disastrous for health – for example, elderly people are dying of heatstroke in dramatic heat events, whether it’s Russia, Spain, or Canada. You have the number of days per year which are conducive for incubation of ticks – the number of days is soaring, and the diseases which go

with it are quite sobering. Some initiatives I’m involved in now are looking at those connections and how to incentivise people for the need for climate change action because it’s also good for our health. Often, our health is the most important thing for us because if we don’t feel well, it’s a clear and present threat.

Perhaps the greatest awareness is of the forests’ relationship to ecosystem services, but there is still not enough action. To look at what’s been happening in Brazil under the current presidency, it’s criminal.

Your heart just bleeds for the Amazon. The single quickest, greatest-impact thing we can do globally is to stop the loss of forests and the degradation that’s going on. I continue to be involved in initiatives focused around that. We need action at scale to save our forests, whether it’s in Kalimantan, the whole island of New Guinea, the central African forests, as well as the Amazon spanning a number of countries. If they go down, we go down, and that’s just a horrible, horrible prospect.

KH: Is there a piece of information or moment in your past that galvanised your decision to pursue action on climate change?

The link between a warming climate and human health is evidenced by the number of elderly people dying of heatstroke.

Heatwave in Spain. Nick Kenrick

KH: Was there anything about the contributions people wrote that surprised you?

HC: When I came to do the Foreward, I was reflecting on why is it that the world and our own country are so slow in addressing the climate crisis. When Covid came along, we spun into action. I opined on the differences between the two train wrecks ... one came suddenly as a train going through the red lights killing a lot of people and demanded urgent action. Our team of five million pulled together. What we talk about in this book is a slow-moving train wreck which is gathering speed.

→

HC: I became sensitised to the issue when I was leader of the opposition ... we have had really extraordinary pockets of resistance in New Zealand, and the first one starts with an F and it is, of course, farmers. Let’s not put all farmers in same box because some are sensitised and want to do their bit, but as an industry they’ve been extremely unhelpful. When I was PM, we had an MP at a farmers’ rally on a tractor. It was ridiculous headin-the-sand behaviour. We’ve also had the other parts of industry which are addicted to coal – for example, Huntly power station. For me, another turning point was Nick Sturm’s report for the British government ... he spelled it all out ... we pay now or we pay more later. If we don’t pay now to invest in a climate-friendly future, the adaptation cost will be horrific ... it will spin out in ways we can’t imagine ... that was a very seminal report for me.

KH: You’ve edited a new book called Climate Aotearoa – what’s motivated you to do this particular book?

HC: I think it’s really important to have Kiwi perspectives on the crisis documented. We are all exposed to a lot of literature about the climate crisis ... there’s a surfeit of information, both good and informative and also ... fake news. But to bring together a range of Kiwi perspectives on the crisis, how it affects us, and what we should be looking at doing about it, that’s an incredible contribution, and I’m very pleased [the publishers] Allen & Unwin wanted to do that.

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→

I often liken it to the lobster that’s put in the pot of cold water on the stove, and you turn the heat up, and the lobster keeps smiling, but at some point it’s actually cooked. Well, that’s the state our world is in. If we don’t recognise that’s the process going on, then we end up cooked. Of course, there will be the cynics who say that what New Zealand does is so infinitesimal ... OK, we know all that, but where is our moral authority to call on others to act if we refuse to act ourselves?

Every country can say we’re not the biggest Helen Clark says humans are problem ... but we are reacting too slowly to the climate crisis.

Naotake Murayama all in this together.

Everyone needs to act.

It’s not enough to blame the West and tell them to do their thing. China, India, Brazil, everyone has to choose a different development path ... and actually walk the talk. We still have countries, from Japan to China, that

are financing coal plants in other countries as well as maintaining production themselves. No excuses any more, of hiding behind “we are a developing country” ... there are other technologies available and that also puts the onus on those who have the technologies to share them at a price that is affordable.

KH: Are we on track to keep warming below 1.5˚C? HC: No, we are heading, I think, for a 2.9˚C future.

Our level of ambition is shockingly low, and everyone has reasons for delaying which aren’t valid. It’s all a question of political will. We could lead the way on eliminating coal. Why is Fonterra still using coal? How can we claim we have pure New Zealand clean and green agriculture? We should be seen as a world leader in eliminating coal in our systems. Others are trying to do the right thing, Denmark, Spain, but there aren’t enough of them. We need to really push the case for action.

This is an edited version of a longer conversation that took place live during Forest & Bird’s national conference in June.

The single biggest climate action we can take, says Helen Clark, is to stop the loss of the world’s forests. Photo: Amazon forest being cleared in a protected conservation area by fire during 2020 while Covid-19 raged throughout Brazil.

Marizilda Cruppe/Amazonia Real

The Rt Hon Helen Clark is the editor of a new book Climate Aotearoa: What’s happening and what we can do about it. She served as an MP for more than 27 years and was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008. In that time, she advocated strongly on sustainability and climate change issues. She became the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017 and patron of the Helen Clark Foundation in 2019. Helen continues to be a strong voice for sustainable development, climate action, gender equality and women’s leadership, peace and justice, and action on global health issues.

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YO U T H

BUILDING A MOVEMENT

Forest & BIrd Youth codirector Connor Wallace with Auckland Mayor Phil Goff at a recent planting day at Hoskings Reserve.

Since being launched in 2017, Forest & Bird Youth continues to go from strength to strength.

Caroline Wood

Y

oung people have been at the heart of what Forest & Bird does since it was established in 1923 with a mission to engage children in the love of nature and its conservation.

In 1988, we launched Kiwi Conservation Club, the country’s first independent nature organisation for children.

Four years ago, the Society established Forest & Bird Youth for high school and tertiary age students to bridge the gap between our child and adult members and provide a continuous pathway for young people to continue to be involved in conservation.

People such as Evan Waters, a retired farmer from Timaru, who has been a lifelong member of Forest & Bird since he was 10 years old. He is now 89 and still as passionate about protecting nature in his backyard as he was as a youngster!

Youth’s national network co-director Kaya Freeman, of Wellington, says Youth members have brought a passionate energy and a new voice for nature to the Forest & Bird whānau.

Since 2017, the youth-led group has grown organically and now

has eight regional Youth Hubs.

This year, new hubs have been established in Hawke’s Bay, Kāpiti, and Dunedin, and a regional group has been set up in Southland.

“The national leadership team is driving cross-regional engagement, and a number of other exciting projects are under way,” says Kaya, who has joined Forest & Bird’s Board as an independent member.

Moves to formalise Youth involvement in Forest & Bird’s governance structures were unanimously agreed at June’s AGM. The Council will now include two Youth representatives, who will be allowed to vote in future meetings.

George Hobson, 17, who leads Forest & Bird Youth’s campaign team, says its mission is to ensure the government puts nature first in all its actions.

The team was recently bolstered with nine new members, and it is currently focusing on climate and biodiversity advocacy campaigns.

Last year, they ran a successful general election campaign, with 300,000+ interactions on social media.

The largest Youth-led conservation project in the country

is taking place at Hoskings Reserve, in Albany, on Auckland’s North Shore.

The long-term restoration project recently received funding for traps, and volunteers from the Auckland Youth Hub have been working to control possums, rats, and mice in the reserve.

They have also been transforming weed-ridden gorse areas with native plantings.

“In June, we organised two planting days in collaboration with Auckland Council that saw 13,000 trees and shrubs going into the ground,” said Youth co-director Connor Wallace.

“We had an incredible 400 volunteers taking part, including from schools and local businesses, and the general public.”

The Mayor of Auckland, Phil Goff, attended one planting day, and his Million and a Half Tree Fund paid for the cost of the plants.

Forest & Bird Youth is keen to build more connections with our branches. To find out more, contact our youth network coordinator Britt Little at b.little@forestandbird.org.nz.

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BIODIVERSITY

26 HABITATS NZ

Goblin Forest, Mt Taranaki.

Dave Horton

Forest & Bird has partnered with New Zealand writers and artists to showcase native habitats under threat.

Jane Berney, Jayne Workman, and Paul White

O

ver the past few months, 32 writers and artists from all over Aotearoa have been visiting and learning about some of our country’s native habitats.

Their aim is to highlight how New Zealand’s natural heritage is under threat from climate change, as part of a global creative collaboration.

The resulting writing and artworks will be released around COP 26, the pivotal UN Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow this November.

The 26 Habitats NZ project is a partnership between Forest & Bird and 26 NZ, the New Zealand chapter of international writers’ group 26 (www.26.org.uk).

“When 26 UK launched a project focused on habitat, climate, and biodiversity, we decided to run a New Zealand version,” explains Jane Berney, one of the three 26 Habitats NZ project coordinators.

“While the UK worked closely with the Wildlife Trusts, we set out to connect with Forest & Bird.”

Forest & Bird jumped at the chance to be involved and suggested the 17 writers choose from eight habitat types – wetlands, freshwater, estuaries, alpine, drylands, forest, marine, and offshore islands.

Its staff provided additional background information and guidance about the threats faced by the flora and fauna in each writer’s chosen habitat, as well as on-theground contacts.

The brief to the writers and their

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artist partners was to respond with a 100-word “centena”, a visual image, a pledge, and a 400-word story of their journey. A centena comprises 100 words of poetry or prose, and it must begin and end with the same three words.

Writers planned expeditions to their habitats, some even crossing bodies of water and heading up mountains.

“We randomly assigned habitats to the writer/artist teams and let them explore their spaces, which ranged from the lowlands of Ruapehu to the highlands of Mount Taranaki, venturing north and south, east and west over the country,” added Jane.

One of the writers, Hayden Maskell, picked Kāpiti Island, north of Wellington. In the process of his research, he discovered a singleminded conservationist and military man by the name of Captain Sanderson.

“Armed with guns and steel wire, he set about eradicating goats, possums, and deer from Kāpiti island. And, with battle-hardened organisational skills, he set up what became the New Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society,” he wrote.

Another writer/artist pair, Catherine Macdonald and jeweller Frances Stachl, headed out to Mount Taranaki to explore their assigned alpine habitat.

“An eruption about 400 years ago took out the tōtara and rātā, leaving stumps on which kāmahi trees, a type of epiphyte, have flourished,” says Catherine, “and we were keen

to see what else had survived.”

Catherine and Frances walked up to Wilkies Pools through what’s known as the Goblin Forest (pictured above). They discovered the maunga is home to giant, carnivorous Powelliphanta land snails but didn’t see any as they’re not only colossal but nocturnal.

As well as Catherine’s writing, 26 Habitats NZ will also be a showcase for the jewellery that Frances started work on while they were there. She used rocks on the mountain to scratch Frances Stachl patterns onto pieces of metal she had taken with her.

Haerenga, Frances Stachl, 2021.

Another collaborating pair, poet Sue Heggie and photographer Leanne Silver chose to celebrate the work of the community group that is restoring the walkway around Onikiritea, Hobsonville Point, now the site of new housing but once dense forest.

Sue and Leanne are members of the group , and their work includes

removing weeds and noxious plants, reducing pest animals, and replanting. Sue is the designated monitor for Ratline 71-80, and her writing dramatically records what goes on there. Leanne responded to Sue’s centena with an evocative image of the flora overhead.

Diptych of The Great Swamp, Claire Bell, 2021.

Reaching for the Sun, Leanne Silver, 2021.

Meanwhile, calligrapher Peter Gilderdale and writer Paul White ventured to Motuihe island, in the Hauraki Gulf.

“Rangitoto and Waiheke are the islands that dominate Auckland’s seascape,” says Paul, “but, like a lot of people, Peter and I knew nothing about Motuihe. We were stunned by what we found.”

Peter Gilderdale

They were shown round the island by Julie Thomson from the Motuihe Island Restoration Trust.

She told them how, since 2003, an incredible 441,000 plants have been eco-sourced from the island, propagated within the island nursery, and planted. The pair also went hunting for giant wētāpunga and the Duvaucel gecko, New Zealand’s largest lizard.

Peter’s calligraphy distils the habitational history of Motuihe into three words: Nature, Culture, Nature.

The Great Swamp, Raumati’s historic wetland on the Kāpiti Coast, was the choice of writer Jayne Workman and artist Claire Bell. The site captures critical issues facing wetlands across New Zealand, where 90% has already been lost. Only tiny, restored fragments remain.

“It’s a loss made all the more devastating by wetlands’ potential to mitigate climate change,” says Jayne Workman.

“We came away with words like lost, hidden, secret, ephemeral to inform our response.”

Claire, a glass artist, saw an opportunity to return to drawing.

Creating a large diptych, a mirror image in charcoal and pencil, from a photograph taken on the day, she captures the beauty of the wetlands

and hints at their critical functions of cleansing, filtering, and protecting.

The 26 Habitats project, with its Claire Bell collaborations between New Zealand and the UK, will explore the effects of climate change and habitat loss across the world – and amplify the need for a bold response to the current biodiversity crisis.

Momentum is gathering as the writers and artists’ work is finalised and curated, ready for release in the days before, during, and after COP26. Their work will be rolled out, starting in September and running into November 2021.

The campaign includes a website, social media, events, and a book in 2022 as well as pledges of individual action from writers.

We will share the writing and artworks in the next issue of Forest & Bird. For more information, follow the writers and artists on Instagram and Twitter @26Characters or go to 26project.org.uk/26habitats/.

Jane Berney, Jayne Workman, and Paul White are co-leaders of the 26 Habitats NZ project.

MOUNTAIN HIGH, FOREST DEEP, AND REMEMBER, NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

Regeneration, Peter Gilderdale, 2021.

The following writers and artists are part of 26 Habitats NZ: Jane Berney, Elle Anderson, Chris Bowring, Blake Li, Melanie Cooper, Alice Bell, Lindsey Dawson, Mark Easterbrook, Mark Carter, Sir Bob Harvey, Ted Scott, Nicola Hartfield, Roz Paterson, Sue Heggie, Leanne Silver, Jane Langley, Becky Ollivier, Kit Lawrence, Michelle Penrice, Catherine Macdonald, Frances Stachl, Hayden Maskell, Rachel Walker, Scott Moyes, Aimee Moyes, Richard Pamatatau, Lee Ryan, Rebekah Forman, Paul White, Peter Gilderdale, Jayne Workman, and Claire Bell.

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F R E S H WAT E R

NOW HEAR THIS!

Keen birders are being asked to report bittern calls to help boost conservation efforts. John Sumich

M

any of us happily spent an hour observing birds during this year’s NZ Garden Bird Survey, but our Australasian bittern survey involves using your ears rather than eyes.

We want to find out where and when the first “booms” of the male matuku hūrepo are heard this spring and early summer.

By taking part in this citizen science survey, and logging any calls you hear on our website, you will be helping build a picture of this cryptic and rarely seen wetland species.

Possibly, a regional difference in the onset of booming might be found, but more importantly this citizen science survey can help show the location and stability or further decline of matuku over time.

Matuku are nationally critical, and this project will also help support conservationists’ efforts to locate and protect bittern breeding sites from the many threats they face (see right).

From spring into early summer, male matuku advertise their presence to attract females and to deter any potential rivals.

Their deep boom is proclaimed most often in the very early and the late part of the day and can travel up to 1km in calm conditions.

These distinctive calls, often three to five in a sequence, can be the only time we become aware of matuku, as they are well-camouflaged and uncommonly seen.

The booming denotes a breeding territory where, hopefully, the next generation of bittern will hatch, grow, and then disperse into.

Matuku numbers are declining in New Zealand and Australia, so it’s important for us to locate their breeding sites so we can protect them.

Locating bitterns using audio recordings or thermal imaging is expensive and requires specialist equipment.

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NR Hutton

A countrywide citizen science project with locals recording bittern booms in their region should give us a more complete idea of their territories and the stability (or otherwise) of their population.

It’s easy to take part in our OK Boomer! survey and add your bittern observations to the database. n Record when you first heard a boom – the time of day. n Make a note of the location (include GPS coordinates if possible). n If you can, add more observations in the following days. n Encourage other locals who live near your local wetland to take part. The more information, the better!

Record your observations on www.matukulink.org.nz or email us at matukulink@gmail.com.

Happy listening!

Dr John Sumich is a trustee of Matuku Link, which borders Forest & Bird’s Matuku Reserve. He has been a Waitakere Branch committee member for the past 25 years.

OUR WETLAND ICON Ninety percent of the bittern’s wetland homes have disappeared over the past 160 years to create farmland and towns. Ongoing habitat loss is one of their greatest threats, although predators, poor water quality, and reduced food availability may also be contributing to population declines.

Bitterns are extremely cryptic and rarely seen. This is due to their secretive behaviour, their inconspicuous plumage, and the inaccessibility of their habitat.

Matuku occasionally show themselves in the open along wetland edges, dykes, drains, flooded paddocks, or roadsides, often adopting their infamous “freeze” stance, with the bill pointing skyward, even when caught out in the open.

DISTRIBUTION Matuku are found throughout New Zealand, as well as parts of Australia and New Caledonia. A radio-tracking study on 10 adult male bitterns in the Hawke’s Bay showed that birds travelled across a network of wetlands, within a 15km radius, seasonally. Sites regularly visited included raupō-fringed lakes, spring-fed creeks with cover, and areas of rank-grass along paddock/drain edges. The furthest a New Zealand bittern has travelled (2017) was 140km (a juvenile female in the Canterbury region).

FOOD Bitterns feed mainly on fish, including tuna eels, but they also take spiders, insects, molluscs, worms, freshwater crayfish, frogs, and lizards.

Source: www.birdsonline.com.

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HISTORY PROJECT

GLIMPSES OF WILD LIFE

We have discovered three historic Forest & Bird conservation movies in the film archives, including one that was made 90 years ago.

Michael Pringle

D

uring the flickering, silent black and white film made nearly a century ago, a young Māori wahine comes into shot to feed a kererū from her hand.

Her name was Rangi Webber, and she was a member of the Webber whānau, who came to live on the northern end of Kāpiti Island in 1909 on land that had been passed to them from their ancestor Wi Parata.

In time, Hona and Utauta Webber would meet and become friends with that other lover of Kāpiti Island, Forest & Bird founder Val Sanderson, whose passionate defence of the sanctuary over many years was the inspiration for a national, independent conservation organisation being established in 1923.

This 15-minute film, called Glimpses of Wild Life, was filmed on Kāpiti Island in the 1920s or very early 1930s. Hona Webber appears feeding the ducks in an early scene entitled “A Māori garden which is the home of many wild ducks”, and his wife Utauta also briefly appears. Val Sanderson is also seen feeding a wild bird in the Webbers’ garden.

This was an early cinematic attempt by the Society to show New Zealanders some of their native birds and their habitats, impress on them the need to protect native ducks, and show them how to encourage birdlife into their own gardens.

Other species featured include tūī, kākāriki, kororā little blue

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penguins, and shags. It also shows types of trees attractive to birds, including kōwhai, tree lucerne, pūriri, and ngutukākā.

The film was shown during Forest & Bird’s lecture series around the country, often accompanied by a series of hand-coloured lantern slides and a live orchestra.

Glimpses of Wild Life has been digitised by our friends at the Ngā Taonga and is available to view at www.ngataonga.org. nz/collections/catalogue/ catalogue-item?record_ id=66887.

THE NEED FOR NATURE

Publicity was seen as the “greatest weapon” in the early Society’s efforts to engage Kiwis with a love of nature, according to Norman Dalmer in his 1983 history of Forest & Bird’s first 60 years. This led to a plethora of conservation-related magazines, school books, railway posters, membership badges, films, hand-coloured lantern slides, photographs, and radio shows from the 1920s to the late 1950s.

Mostly published before television arrived in New Zealand in 1960, these visual archives form a rich treasure trove of uniquely New Zealand social and environmental history.

In the 1960s, Forest & Bird commissioned the well-regarded Pacific Films to make a short narrated technicolour movie about

Glimpses of Wild Life features Rangi Webber feeding a kererū on Kāpiti Island.

New Zealand’s natural heritage and the efforts the Society was making to protect it.

The Need for Nature took several years to make and was seen in cinemas all over New Zealand in 1970. It included footage of birds, native forests, alpine and river scenes, young Forest & Bird members walking through the bush, a family camp at Arthur’s Pass, Forest & Bird’s leaders meeting at Bushy Park, near Whanganui, and numerous threats, including land clearance, erosion, deer, and other predators.

The 16-minute film was shown as a “short” prior to the main feature.

It aimed to show how humanity benefits from the environment.

“In the rush of commerce, there is little room for nature,” says the narrator.

During research for Forest & Bird’s centennial history book, we discovered this delightful film in the national film archive. We are most grateful to Ngā Taonga for digitising and restoring The Need for Nature. In time, this will be viewable on both the Ngā Taonga and Forest & Bird websites.

The Need for Nature shines a light on conservation concerns in 1960s New Zealand.

WARTIME CINEMA TRAILER In the mid-20th century, cinema was a hugely popular form of entertainment, with many Kiwis going to “the flicks” at least once a week.

Forest & Bird saw this as an opportunity to boost Forest & Bird’s membership, and in the mid-1940s the Society paid for a cinema trailer to appear before the main feature.

It exhorted patrons to join the Forest & Bird Protection Society to “help save our heritage ... and our unique forest and bird life” so “we can all work with unity of purpose

and speak with one voice!”

Membership forms were placed on tables in the cinemas for movie goers to collect on exit. Child membership cost 1 shilling, adults 5 shillings, and life members £5.

The trailer is not digitised and is not yet available for public viewing.

Michael Pringle is Forest & Bird’s history project researcher and discovered all three movies buried deep in New Zealand’s wonderful film archives. See www.ngataonga.org.nz.

Forest & Bird’s films were shown in cinemas nationwide, including the State, in Timaru.

Barry McLauchlan

FOREST & BIRD’S HISTORY SCHOLAR 2021 Victoria University Science in Society Masters Student Katrin O’Donnell is this year’s Forest & Bird history scholarship winner.

Katrin is planning to make a short documentary inspired by the Society’s history, weaving together snippets from our archive films together with Katrin O’Donnell modern footage and interviews.

Katrin will receive $500 to undertake her project. Watch this space – we can’t wait to see what she comes up with!

JUST YOU AND THE SOUNDS. Welcome to the wild corners of Fiordland, where the call of native birds is your alarm clock and the symphony of waves, wind and waterfalls your melody. Here you will find a boutique adventure company with a distinctive sailboat, hosting multi-day itineraries with conservation at the core.

wildfiordland.co.nz

KAYAK . SAIL. SNORKEL. FREE DIVE HIKE. WINE. DINE. UNWIND.

Thank you to the Stout Trust for its generous grant and support for Forest & Bird’s Force of Nature history project.

C L I M AT E

The Climate Change Commission recommended a massive expansion of native forests to help capture carbon and reduce emissions.

Rob Suisted

TIME FOR

ACTION

Will you help us lobby MPs to ensure nature is at the heart of our country’s soon-to-be implemented climate action plan?

Geoff Keey

T

he final few months of 2021 will be critical in terms of how the government responds to the climate crisis – will Ministers be bold or fold to industry interests?

Soon, we will be seeking your help in lobbying MPs to make sure they put nature at the heart of New Zealand’s climate response.

The government needs to adopt a National Emissions Reduction Plan by the end of this year.

It is vital that nature-based solutions are put at the heart of an ambitious and innovative New Zealand plan of action – and we do our bit to slow global climate warming.

It is also an opportunity for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show the world how it is possible to work with nature to reduce emissions while also protecting nature and human health.

It was encouraging to see much stronger priority being given to nature-based solutions in the Climate Change Commision’s final advice to the government in June.

It confirmed that the government must respond to

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climate change in two ways – first, by reducing emissions wherever possible and, second, by restoring natural ecosystems.

In its final report, the Climate Change Commision set out the important role that native forests already play in storing carbon. In the long term, it recommended a massive expansion of native forests, including converting marginal land to forest.

The Commission also took on board Forest & Bird’s advice about pests. We argued in our detailed submission earlier this year that controlling feral browsers in native forests is really important.

We included a copy of our research report Protecting our Natural Ecosystem Carbon Sinks with our submission. It shows the benefits of removing browsing mammals, including possums, feral deer, and goats, from native forests, shrublands, and tussocklands.

Pest control will protect the carbon stored in forests and help native forests to regenerate, so it is pleasing to see the Climate Change Commission envisages pest control from the top to bottom of our

country as a climate action. This would be a big step up from where we are now.

When it comes to wetlands and their ability to be another powerful carbon sink, the Commission has also taken on board advice from Forest & Bird and others. They agree we need to prevent the further loss of our wetlands and restore degraded ones.

Again, this is a really big shift, and it provides a big opportunity for us to secure the kind of legal wetland protections Forest & Bird has campaigned for over many years.

The coming few months offer a big opportunity for conservationists to make sure these kinds of “win-win” naturebased solutions make it into the government’s final action plan.

The decisions government ministers make will decide the future of Aotearoa’s natural heritage and how the billions of dollars in emissions trading scheme revenue gets spent.

But there are risks.

To date, we have seen a slow rate of progress on climate change

in New Zealand, and this needs to change. We need to make sure all government ministers are aware of what is at stake if we don’t take bold action and encourage them to be ambitious.

There is also a high chance of industry pushback, and again history would suggest this can be very powerful, which is one reason why we will soon be asking you, our supporters, to help us counteract that.

What is Forest & Bird doing?

We’ve been engaging with government and MPs in different ways, including making a detailed submission to the Climate Change Commission and inviting Climate Change Minister James Shaw to speak at our June annual conference.

We have also sent the government a briefing with our suggestions for a nature-first Emissions Reduction Plan We need pester power on top of that, and that is where you can help.

Please make a submission to the government via our website, urging it to put nature at the heart of New Zealand’s Emissions Reduction Plan. Find out how you can add your voice by making a submission or donating to our campaign at www.forestandbird.org.nz/naturefirst-climate-plan.

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS ARE WIN-WIN FOR CLIMATE AND NATURE

Forest & Bird’s top 10 recommendations for the government.

THE NOT SO GOOD The Climate Change Commission has signalled a five-fold increase in wind farming and a significant expansion in the use of biofuels.

No details are available yet on where the new windfarms would go and how they would carry electricity around the country.

We don’t want to see huge industrial-scale hydro-electric schemes like the one planned for the Mohikinui River in 2011.

There are also risks when it comes to planting fast-growing plants to produce biofuels. They may spread out of control and become unwanted weeds in indigenous habitats, much like wilding pines.

We also have concerns over the idea of raising Lake Onslow in Otago – a simple but expensive and destructive way to get New Zealand to 100% renewable electricity.

We would like to see money spent on encouraging the widescale electrification of New Zealand’s vehicle fleets and energy production, rather than billions spent on expensive new dams.

The Commission also wants to see the end of coal. This needs to include an end to digging it up.

It’s not enough to focus on how it’s being used. We have to stop it being taken out of the ground in the first place.

A five-fold increase in wind farms is on the cards, but where will they go?

Meridian’s wind farm at Makara, near Wellington.

Dave Arthur

n Introduce rules and incentives to

n

n

n

n

protect natural carbon storage in forests and wetlands.

Overhaul ocean management to protect ecosystems and blue carbon stores.

New renewable electricity infrastructure should protect natural ecosystems, not destroy them.

An end to mining on public conservation land and no new coal mines anywhere in New Zealand.

Bring agriculture into the emissions trading scheme.

n Restore unforested public

conservation stewardship land as a matter of national urgency. n Return marginal and erodible land to native forests and shrublands. n Introduce incentives for regenerative farming, to cut agricultural emissions, and to decrease the national herd size. n Massive investment in public and active transport services and infrastructure, and encourage the development of more compact urban areas.

Lyndon Hookham

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COMMUNITY

Walking THE TALK Taking action to bring back nature has reduced the Hurford/Lea family’s feelings of “climate anxiety”.

David Brooks

A

s long-time financial supporters of Forest & Bird, Rachel Hurford and husband Andy Lea know they are playing an important role in the battle against the climate crisis and the further destruction of nature.

“Making regular gifts to Forest & Bird is important to us,” says Rachel.

“I’m passionate about Forest & Bird because it’s got grassroots community conservation through its branches, and there is also the important activism and lobbying at the national level.”

The Christchurch-based family lived for a decade in New Jersey. After the birth of her son Elliot in America in 2005, Rachel says she had an “environmental awakening”, worrying about what kind of world their children would inherit.

Action was a better option than passive anxiety, and Rachel became involved in persuading New Jersey cities to sign the US Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.

On the family’s return to New Zealand in 2007, she saw the changes that had taken place in Canterbury since her childhood on the family farm at Hororata.

“My sisters, brothers, and I used to swim in the Selwyn River and the Hororata River, so it was shocking to come back and see those rivers polluted and the landscape transformed by dairy cows and irrigators.”

Rachel Hurford with daughter Phoebe and son Elliot on the West Coast.

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Nature’s Future Supporter

Since returning, Rachel has been active in Forest & Bird and other environmental organisations, and is especially concerned about issues relating to climate change and fresh water.

“Climate change has been a hugely scary prospect for me, as well as the danger of mass extinctions of flora and fauna. Humans are at the top of the food chain, and we have been so arrogant,” she says.

Daughter Phoebe is a former Kiwi Conservation Club member and was one of the leaders of the School Strike 4 Climate movement in Christchurch.

Rachel and Phoebe have tramped most of New Zealand’s Great Walks, exploring the natural treasures they’re fighting for.

Regular giving through Forest & Bird’s Nature’s Future programme connects the whole family in their determination to see New Zealand protect and enhance nature.

Every time there is a change for the better in government policy, Rachel sees the benefits of Forest & Bird’s advocacy work that she helped fund.

Recently, this includes freshwater reform, more funding for DOC, plans for better management of our marine areas, and the creation of the $1.24 billion Jobs for Nature programme.

But Rachel and Andy know there is much work still to be done, and that’s why, on top of their generous regular giving, they are planning on leaving a gift to Forest & Bird in their wills.

“I would really encourage other people to leave a bequest to Forest & Bird. It’s a really important way of being able to leave the world a little bit better,” Rachel adds.

With a regular gift to Forest & Bird, you can help bring back nature and ensure a healthy climate – see www.forestandbird.org.nz/support-us/becomeregular-giver.

BIRD OF THE YEAR 2021 | TE MANU RONGONUI TO TE TAU

CRAZY BIRD QUIZ R eckon you know all about our incredible birdlife? You may know their names, but what about the collective noun that describes a group of them? For example, a circus of kea or spectacle of silvereye.

PLUMMET • GLIDING • COMMITTEE • PANTHEON • ECHO • ECSTASY • CHIME • HOON • FREEZE.

➋

....

AN .

. . OF TŪ Ī

.. ..

I NT F A ATR O A . . . . . . . . ALB

..

..

➍

➌

A.

PO O D SS EA N /T OR OA

➊

➎

AN . . . . . . OF MOREPORKS/RURU

/ .O TS FA NE UST N A RALASIAN G

➏

KĀ

D LE AI T A. AR .. . OF B KA GO . . .

A U K DWITS/

➐

TĀ KA PU

ANSWERS:

Give our quiz a go! Match the nine collective nouns listed below in orange to the species pictured, and be in to win one of two copies of Melissa Boardman’s Birds of New Zealand book. Email your answers to draw@forestandbird.org.nz with CRAZY in the subject line before 1 November 2021.

A..

➑

F AUSTRA ....O LAS ...

IAN /MATUK N R ...

E T U A BIT

➒

/

A.......O FR IFL TĪTIPO E UN AM MA N U

........

A

..

...

ED NT . . OF WHITE-FRO TERNS/TARA

All illustrations by Melissa Boardman

Collective nouns are the group term for a particular species of animal – think a murder of crows. While there are many terms for overseas birds, few have been coined for our New Zealand birds. I’d always wondered how collective nouns came about and who decided they would become the accepted term for a species, so when Harper Collins contacted

me I jumped at the chance to do this book. Many wonderful hours were spent drawing the illustrations of 90 bird species, researching collective nouns, coming up with new nouns, and writing bird facts.

You can buy Melissa Boardman’s book, illustrations, and bird-inspired gifts at www.melissaboardman.com.

KĀ OF

BIODIVERSITY The young kakī explore their new home near Lake Tekapo, South Canterbury.

Ines Stäger

KAKĪ COME HOME

To celebrate 40 years protecting one of New Zealand’s rarest birds, Forest & Bird was recently invited to help release 40 juvenile kakī into their natural habitat.

Ines Stäger

T

he cameras were clicking as the kakī black stilt fledglings left the boxes they had been transported in from the Department of Conservation aviary to the release site in the Godley River, at the top of Lake Takapō Tekapo, in South Canterbury.

It was a mixed reaction to freedom. Some flew away quickly, some walked out briskly, while others took their time. After the initial flurry of activity, most of them congregated in the water, exploring their new territory.

The eggs they hatched from originated in this area.

Some were brought to the aviary in Twizel and others to the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust on Banks Peninsula, where they hatched and were raised until their release.

DOC invited South Canterbury Forest & Bird and KCC members to attend one of the kakī releases. In early August, 82 kakī were released over two days into their natural environment at the site.

Although they look similar, these nine-month-old fledglings are not to be mistaken for pied stilts, which are also black and white. The plumage of juvenile kakī will eventually turn black after the first moult in the coming autumn.

Kakī habitat was still widespread at the end of the 19th century, and they could be found in parts of the North Island as well as various parts of the South Island. But they gradually disappeared from most sites because of predation and loss of habitat, until the only breeding populations left were in the Mackenzie Basin.

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Despite our best efforts to protect them, kakī are still the rarest wading birds in the world, with only around 170 adults in the wild.

Four decades ago, the picture looked even more grim, with only 23 birds left on Earth.

In a 1979 article in the Timaru Herald, Forest & Bird’s vice-president, Sir Robert Falla, reported serious concerns about the state of black stilts, saying: “Measures must be taken to preserve the black stilt in the Upper Waitaki.” He said their habitat was being threatened by power development.

South Canterbury branch secretary Joy Sagar, centre, prepares to release a juvenile kakī.

Jeremy Sanson

In 1980, Forest & Bird asked Otago PhD ecology student Ray Pierce to work with the South Canterbury branch of Forest & Bird to help to “save” the remaining kakī. As well as carrying out physical conservation tasks, the branch and the society raised funds to support Ray’s kakī research in the Mackenzie Basin.

As a result of his research, Ray reported back to Forest & Bird that predators were responsible for a serious decline in numbers in their remaining South Canterbury habitats.

In July 1980, Forest & Bird decided to raise funds to construct an electrified predator-proof fence to protect the remaining kakī habitat from cats, ferrets, rats, and hedgehogs.

This was built at Mail Box Inlet at Glenmore Station.

The following year, in 1981, the Society and local branch paid for a second fence to be installed at Mick’s Lagoon in the Tekapo wetlands.

With limited resources, the New Zealand Wildlife Service carried out protection work in the Mackenzie during the 1980s, until DOC was established in 1987 and took over responsibility for looking after kakī.

Kakī habitat has disappeared over time, and now they only breed in remote parts of the Mackenzie Basin.

Robbie Stewart

One of the 82 kakī with its juvenile plumage. Adults are completely black.

Alistair Beeby Juvenile kakī in their boxes ready for release at Godley River.

Tony Doy

In 2006, Project River Recovery, in conjunction with DOC’s Kakī Recovery Group, launched a catchmentwide predator-control programme in the Tasman River.

More recently, through the Manahuna project, predator control has been extended to cover 60,000ha, 80% of which is kakī habitat.

The newly released juvenile kakī will be fed for six weeks at their new habitat sites. Meanwhile, DOC staff will also be on patrol to disperse any oystercatchers that try to visit for a free meal.

Forest & Bird continues with its decades-long advocacy for the protection of the natural values of the MacKenzie Basin, including its special and rare kakī population.

Ines Stäger is a member of the South Canterbury Branch and a Forest & Bird Board member.

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ARTS

Canvassing CONNECTIONS

Kowhai flowers, Chrissy Wickes, acrylic on water ski.

Chrissy Wickes talks about her new book Creative Conservation, a featuring artists who are passionate about protecting nature.

Jazmine Ropner

S

eeing a beautiful piece of artwork stirs up different emotions. It can transport us to different locations or open our minds to new perspectives. But learning more about an artist’s intention behind their work can leave even more of a lasting impression.

The inspiration for Creative Conservation came to Chrissy Wickes while she was working as a field ranger in the Murchison mountains for the Department of Conservation, home of one of New Zealand’s most unique endangered birds, the takahē.

She came across a striking drawing of a takahē left by a previous ranger in one of the programme’s work huts. It dawned on her that some people with firsthand experiences of protected species and habitats also express their passion for conservation creatively.

In Creative Conservation, which Chrissy compiled with artist Sonia Frimmel, 35 painters, sculptors, poets, carvers, and photographers share their artworks alongside their most amazing conservation moment.

“My hope is that, while the reader is enjoying the art, they will also be interested in the artist’s conservation story,” Chrissy says.

“You can only care about what you know and can see. We know that people can connect deeply with nature through art and photography.”

Compiling the book turned out to be a 12-year labour of love.

“The book is the first of its kind,” says Chrissy, as it focuses on distinctively New Zealand conservation art.

Her own deep love of New Zealand’s natural beauty is expressed through the process of painting.

“I can study the physical layout of the land in a more creative way than if I was just enjoying the view,” she explains.

Some of the artists found inspiration to protect nature through their experiences as children.

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Te Reo o te Taiao

Others were inspired by a single encounter with an endangered species.

All welcomed the opportunity to share their passion and knowledge of the outdoors in the hope that viewers will achieve a connection to nature through their artworks. Here are some of their stories.

GAVIN SMITH,

OF TE AWAMUTU Gavin Smith combines his love of Aotearoa’s natural wonders with his ancestors’ traditional carving methods. The resulting pieces are powerful and uniquely his. Gavin has been interested in conservation since he was a child, learning the names of plants and animals found in his mother’s garden. His passion has flowered into a career at the Department of Conservation, where he works as an iwi engagement community ranger. Gavin believes that “if we can support tangata whenua to practice traditional kaitiaki practices over their ancestral lands, the future of conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand will be an exciting adventure”.

Matuku, toroa, ruru, Oamaru limestone.

JONO MOORE,

OF CANTERBURY Jono Moore’s mural works invite oceanic wildlife and scenery into urban landscapes, encouraging the public to feel as if they are swimming among Hector’s dolphins in the open ocean while they walk underneath a city bridge in a concrete jungle. Jono’s woodcut prints are mesmerising in their detail, and the viewer can almost feel the wind blowing through the leaves of the tī kōuka. Jono’s interest in nature began early on in his life, leading him to unique experiences through his work with the Department of Conservation. His involvement in conservation has provided him with the incentive to advocate for appreciation of nature through his artworks.

ANGELA NEWPORT,

OF KAIRAKI Angela Newport’s lively paintings portray an intimate encounter with wildlife and scenery. Her inspiration is drawn from her unique access to rugged, ever-changing landscapes and the fleeting and intricate details of the harsh environments. Her paintings boldly reflect the movement and harsh elements of the natural world. The use of oil paints in conjunction with acrylic paints provides layers to her work, especially evident in Grounded III (left) . The viewer is reminded by Angela’s dynamic work that, although nature is constantly changing, “the small details, fine and sometimes fragile, are what can hold it all together”.

GINNEY DEAVOLL,

Jono with his mural in Kaikōura.

JO OGIER,

OF CHRISTCHURCH Jo Ogier achieves a great sense of depth by layering multicoloured woodcuts or using different mediums such as watercolour and graphite to make her images stand bold.

Jo is academically trained as an artist, but her creativity truly flourishes when taking her art into the field, including difficultto-access locations. Her art tells a strong New Zealand conservation story. The main themes she promotes are, “ecosystem fragility, habitat destruction, predation and negative human interaction”.

OF HAHEI Ginney Deavoll’s acrylic paintings invite the viewer into our natural world with bold, sweeping views of deep expansive landscapes. Ginney’s art often features Māori symbolism. Her passion for art and nature began at a young age when a large whale swam underneath her kayak, and today she is still driven to share her love of New Zealand’s most wild places. Her work is an endeavour to illustrate her experiences among nature, including on the water and reflections under the stars. The beautiful marriage of her skills as a painter and the inspiration of the natural world serve as her tūrangawaewae.

Poutini, acrylic on canvas.

Creative Conservation, compiled by Chrissy Wickes and Sonia Frimmel, is published by New Holland, RRP $45.

Denniston Plateau, woodcut.

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FOREST & BIRD PROJECT

Project manager Jenny Hanwell is dedicated to creating a pest-free haven for local birds.

ON THE FRONTLINE

As Pest-Free Hibiscus Coast heads towards its tenth birthday, we look at what has been achieved thanks to the dedication of local volunteers and residents.

Jenny Hanwell

F

or the past seven years, Forest & Bird member Derek Kelsey has been a volunteer with Pest-Free Hibiscus Coast.

Derek looks after 100 bait stations and 18 traps, helps other backyard trappers, does bird counts, and helps with local school group visits. Last year, he won the project’s Outstanding Volunteer award.

The keen birdwatcher was motivated to help after moving from the UK in 2010.

“I was quite shocked when I learned of the plight of many native birds in New Zealand and wanted to do my bit to help,” he said.

“My health has benefited, as the project helps keep me fit and active.

I have made friends and learned a great deal about wildlife here.”

The Hibiscus Coast, north of

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Auckland, is filled with nature, and locals love to get out and enjoy it, whether it’s birdsong-filled bush walks at Shakespear Open Sanctuary, exercising at Orewa Estuary, boating in the Hauraki Gulf, or relaxing on local beaches.

It’s been nearly 10 years since the seed of an idea came to local Forest & Bird Branch Chair, Pauline Smith, to create a Pest-Free Hibiscus Coast cared for by the local community.

The branch wanted to create a safe haven for native species, including korimako, kākāriki, and tīeke, to move along the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, from Tiritiri Matangi Island just across the water to the Ōrewa Estuary.

I joined the project in 2019, together with field officer Rhiannon

Thomas. I created a three-year strategic plan to grow the project, encourage more residents to begin trapping on their own properties, and increase the number of predator control lines on reserves.

The project couldn’t run without volunteers, and there are now more than 100 people trained to look after predator-control lines in local parks and reserves.

Together, they are contributing 4000 hours of their time each year, and their hard work is paying off with sightings of kākāriki, kākā, and increasing numbers of pīwakawaka, riroriro, and tūī.

They now look after 1560 traps and bait stations, and are removing about 30,000 rats and more than 200 possums each year. Fifty species of native birds have been recorded across our 3100ha project area.

In some streets, neighbours have come together to be part of PestFree Hibiscus Coast and are doing their bit to get rid of every single pest on the peninsula.

Residents from Riverhaven Drive joined the project in early 2020.

Their properties are next to mature native forest along the Weiti River, an important spot for local wildlife.

The small street group has caught more than 150 rats on their properties and has worked with the Forest & Bird team to install a predator control line on the reserve that runs along the bottom of their sections.

Volunteer Derek Kelsey installing a tracking tunnel.

Anna Arrol

Stanmore Bay on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.

Riverhaven resident MaryAnn Rowland has been trained to look after the line. She and her neighbours say they have seen a real difference since they started control work.

Her kohekohe trees have flowered for the first time, native seedlings are popping up everywhere, and the bush is free from the noise of rats and possums at night.

Tūī have been more abundant than ever, with more than 30 juveniles being spotted at one volunteer’s property and another counting 16 kererū on her electricity line.

Schools have got on board as well. More than 1000 students have learned about the importance of predator control through the project’s education programme.

Many students have also built their own backyard rat traps to take home. Eight schools are trapping in their own grounds, with college students getting particularly stuck into the task.

Since the backyard trapping programme started last autumn, more than 1200 people have signed

topVIEW Photography

up to start trapping rats on their properties, with a further 50 borrowing possum or hedgehog traps too.

Rats are currently tracking at 18%, possums at 1%, and hedgehogs at 6%. Funding permitting, we are aiming for less than 5% tracking for all species by end of 2024.

The core project team has expanded to include predator control specialist Naomi Harrison and three new community hub activators.

Partners include Hibiscus Coast Men’s Shed, who are making tracking tunnels for the project.

Massey University has been working with the local branch on conducting bird counts across the project area over the past eight years.

Pest-Free Hibiscus Coast is also supported by Auckland Council, Foundation North, Lotteries Environment & Heritage, and Hibiscus & Bays Local Board.

Jenny Hanwell is project manager of Pest-Free Hibiscus Coast.

Project staff and volunteers enjoy getting out into the community to raise awareness of the benefits of predator control for local birdlife. Pictured here with partners from Auckland Council and Restore Hibiscus & Bays.

Photo Carnival

BRINGING BACK THE BIRDS

Andrew Roddy moved to the Hibiscus Coast with his young family in November 2020 and immediately joined the project.

The Forest & Bird member was aware of New Zealand’s PredatorFree 2050 goal and wanted to do his bit to help bring back native birds to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.

He started with two of the project’s rat traps, a possum trap, and a bait station. So far, the rookie trapper has caught four possums and 18 rats, plus bait taken.

Andrew says he has noticed an increase in birdlife around his home, with daily visits from tūī, kererū, and kōtare kingfisher.

He has also recently seen a korimako bellbird, a rare record for this area.

“It’s easier than you think. It sounds like it might be messy but it’s really not, and if everyone made just a little bit of effort then together it will make a big difference,” he says.

To volunteer or make a donation to Pest-Free Hibiscus Coast, email j.hanwell@ forestandbird.org.nz.

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MARINE

BOLDER GULF PLAN NEEDED

Overfishing has decimated snapper populations in the Hauraki Gulf, allowing a proliferation of kina to munch their way through the kelp forests, destroying the coastal reefs.

Darryl Torckler

The government needs to be more ambitious in its plans to restore the Hauraki Gulf.

O

nly a few generations ago, the Hauraki Gulf was full of fish, and its diverse marine habitats were thriving and relatively healthy.

The Gulf’s waters have been in decline for some time now, and Aucklanders have been waiting since 2017 for the government’s response to the Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari plan.

The marine spatial plan was the result of four years of work undertaken by a forum of invited stakeholders, iwi, businesses, E-NGOs, community groups, and experts, including Forest & Bird’s former marine advocate Kat Goddard.

Since 2017, successive Hauraki Gulf Forum reports have highlighted the continued environmental degradation of Auckland’s big blue backyard.

In June, the government finally set out a package of fisheries management and marine conservation actions to restore the Gulf’s waiora and mauri.

It includes tripling marine protection from 6% to almost 18% and banning bottom trawling other than in defined “trawl corridors”.

It also freezes the footprint of commercial scallop dredging and stops recreational scallop dredging. The government proposes localised marine management with mana whenua and local communities in line with the concept of Ahu Moana.

In addition, more than 50 customary, commercial, and recreational fisheries management actions will be packaged in a first of its kind area-based Fisheries Plan for the Hauraki Gulf.

The Fisheries Plan will be finalised in June 2022, says Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker.

“We will deliver the new marine protection areas and fisheries management package over the next three years, ” he said.

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“We will be seeking further input from mana whenua and stakeholders, and we will publicly consult on the protected areas and the Fisheries Plan.”

Forest & Bird welcomes these first steps to restore the health of the Gulf.

“There are good proposals here, but if we want to bring back healthy ecosystems and abundant marine life we need to go further,” said chief executive Kevin Hague.

“There need to be many more protected areas in the Gulf. The 18 proposed reserves must be a starting point moving towards 30% protection, not the end point in themselves.

“Ecosystem-based management needs to allow for the restoration of kelp and mangrove forests, which are essential habitats for fish, birds, and insects. They also store significant amounts of carbon.”

The starting point for the Fisheries Plan must be what the ecosystem needs – not just a bundling up of existing fish stock decisions.

WHAT FOREST & BIRD WANTS n The government to work with iwi/hapū to

n n n

n

progressively increase marine protection from the proposed 18% to 30%.

A phasing out of bottom trawling, Danish seining, and scallop dredging.

The new Fisheries Plan to protect food for wildlife as well as people.

A feedback monitoring loop where it’s mandatory to increase protection if the science says the Gulf is not being restored.

Local and regional councils to clean up waterways that flow into the Gulf.

FOREST & BIRD PROJECT

Andrea Westphal, Santa Maria, and Katherine Smith (right) weigh a kororā.

Michael Lavery

TRACKING KORORĀ Little blue penguins in the capital are being tagged with microchips so conservationists can find out where they go.

Deleece McLaren

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olunteers for Forest & Bird’s Places for Penguins project have begun to tag kororā around Wellington’s coastline. Being able to identify individual birds will help us obtain more accurate information about where they go on land and sea.

This research will also contribute to a national pool of scientific knowledge about penguins, help us make informed conservation decisions, and target our land restoration efforts more effectively. We will also share the data with local councils and governing bodies to support their decision-making.

The Places for Penguins management team spent a lot of time preparing to tag the kororā. We made sure we could carry out the work within the confines of the permit and consulted local iwi about our intentions and the benefits of having a better understanding of the kororā.

The practical aspects of the operation included getting all committee members qualified to undertake the tagging work to comply with the Wildlife Act 1953 and our permits.

This required the team to head down to our friends at the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony and Blue Penguins Pukekura, in Dunedin, who have been tagging birds for more than a decade.

They shared their knowledge and experience so we could start tagging Wellington penguins. We began in May with five trial sites around the south coast. We plan to tag penguins in all of our 13 bays.

The process involves checking and documenting the nestbox, carefully scanning the bird to ensure they do not already have a PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tag, then carefully lifting the penguin out of the box to weigh it.

This can give important health information,

including whether the bird is feeding well. We measure the bill depth and length to indicate if it is male or female and finally perform the PIT tag insertion just under the skin between the shoulder blades, following protocols for health and safety and hygiene.

We knew this would be a major task for us to do alone, so we have partnered up with the New Zealand Penguin Initiative run by Thomas Mattern and Richard Seed. This amazing duo want to unite communitybased penguin conservationists under one umbrella.

They offer support, advice, and equipment so our work can be done with more ease.

All the data is going into a national penguin database, which provides DOC the information it requires. The database will provide a combined New Zealand penguin census while allowing us to identify individual birds and their life story.

Deleece McLaren is a member of Places for Penguins’ management committee.

For more information about Forest & Bird’s Places for Penguins project, see www.forestandbird.org.nz/ projects/places-penguins-wellington.

One of Wellington’s penguins in its nesting box on the South Coast.

Deleece McLaren

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COMMUNITY

FUNKY FUNDRAISERS Nature-loving Kiwis are raising funds for Forest & Bird in all sorts of creative ways. Here are some quirky fundraising activities that have caught our eye recently.

Rob Caldwell

Flock of flamingos QUEENSTOWN

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nterprising duo 10-year-old Zephyr Khouri and his eight-year-old brother Caspian have started an ingenious money-raising enterprise called Give a Flock in Queenstown. The siblings can be hired to secretly install a flock of flamingos on someone’s lawn as a birthday surprise or playful prank for a friend.

The recipient awakens to find their house surrounded by a sea of the motionless pink wading birds, and, after everyone in the household has had a good laugh, the boys collect them the next day. A portion of the money raised is donated to Forest & Bird. “There have been some bookings where they were a bit scared of waking up the house as they placed the birds. We really had to sneak in and out!” says mum Camille Khouri.

Early morning starts are part of the exercise, but so is teaching the boys some lessons that will stick with them. “We wanted to show them that they could make some money for themselves but also that it’s important to give back. They love getting outside, so we know how important it is to protect nature.” So far, the boys have raised $40 for Forest & Bird, and we reckon their business idea is honking! To give someone the gift of a flamingo surprise, email giveaflockqt@gmail.com.

Brothers Zephyr and Caspian Khouri demonstrate their flamingly good fundraising idea.

Fudge-makers (from left) Stella McCarthy, Isabella Hay, Madison Brown, Sarah Tervoort, Nikita Dahya, and Jaime Allott.

Sweet future WELLINGTON

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group of Year 13 Business Studies students from Wellington East Girls’ College is raising funds for Forest & Bird and two other charities by setting up their own fudge-making business.

Stella McCarthy, Isabella Hay, Madison Brown, Sarah Tervoort, Nikita Dahya, and Jaime Allott, all 17, are competing in the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme, which sees students across the country setting up their own commercial enterprises. They have created a business making and selling three flavours of fudge, with 25% of sales from their lemon and lime flavour going to support Forest & Bird. The fudge is baked in bulk at Seatoun Bowling Club and sold at their school and in the Forest & Bird office, where it was very popular among staff. Plans are also afoot to sell the fudge in cafés around the capital. “Forest & Bird’s work on conservation resonates with us,” says Sarah.

“We wanted to create a business that allowed us to get involved with organisations like yours whose work around New Zealand is so important.”

You can order a box of their fantastic fudge at https://fudgeforfunds. wixsite.com/ fudgeforfunds.

Thank you to everyone who has been busy fundraising for Forest & Bird during 2021.

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Paddling for a cause: Jack Waddell, Blake Hornblow, and Gabe Vink Wackernagel.

When in doubt, WHITTLE AUCKLAND

C Wilderness paddlers RAKIURA, STEWART ISLAND

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hree friends recently took on an epic challenge to connect with nature and raise funds for Forest & Bird. Blake Hornblow, Jack Waddell, and Gabe Vink Wackernagel circumnavigated Rakiura Stewart Island in three sea kayaks. The anti-clockwise journey took 13 days, starting and finishing in Oban. Through all kinds of weather, from snow to stunning sunshine, and with up to 6m swells, the three kayakers took in the beauty of Stewart Island’s coasts, forests, and marine life. They camped in pristine bush and counted 35 species of native birds. Having completed a number of other ambitious journeys, a sea voyage around Stewart Island had been a goal of theirs for years. An impressive 85% of the island is part of the Rakiura National Park, and it is an accredited Dark Sky Sanctuary. “We get so much joy from being immersed in these wild places, but it’s not enough to just visit. We have a responsibility to protect them too,” said Blake. “We resonate with what Forest & Bird is doing, and that’s why we wanted to raise funds for your conservation work.” Friends, family, and the Otago Canoe and Kayak Club sponsored the trip, raising more than $1000. You can read all about Blake, Jack, and Gabe’s journey in Going Places on page 58.

larice and Gerrit Slabbert struck fundraising success after taking up an unexpected new hobby – whittling. The practice involves carving shapes out of wood to create works of art or practical objects. Gerrit, who works as a warehouse manager, was prompted by a health setback to slow down and took up whittling as a creative way of keeping busy. Clarice, who works as a graphic designer, soon joined him. They fell in love with the art and whittle together while listening to podcasts.

Their work evolved, and they soon found a demand for the items they produce and exhibit through Instagram. “We don’t start with any plan. We just create as we go and see where the process takes us,” explained Clarice. The couple have discovered they can’t whittle fast enough to keep up with demand.

“We never expected anyone to take much notice, but there has been a really big response.” The pair decided, as it is a hobby they love, they would donate the proceeds to Forest & Bird. “We love getting out in nature. We’ve been involved in tramping and tree planting. We turned our garden into one that’s bird and bee-friendly.” So far, they have raised $493.

Go to www.chooice.co.nz/store/ whittle-kiwi/ or @whittlekiwi on Instagram to see what they’ve been whittling recently.

It makes our day to hear what you’ve been up to, and every dollar goes towards protecting nature.

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IN THE FIELD

SEAGULLS IN STRIFE

Tarāpunga are dubbed the “lipstick” gull after their bright red bills.

Tarāpunga or red-billed gulls are noisy but not as numerous as you might think.

Ann Graeme.

Michelle Martin

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hen there are people on the beach, red-billed gulls will arrive. It’s called the “fish and chips” effect. The gulls have learned that people and food go together, and they keep a beady eye on us as they patrol our picnics. Throwing a morsel to a lone, one-legged bird will bring a scrum of squabbling gulls, seemingly from nowhere.

They are so noisy and so numerous that we dismiss them as common, but we are deceived. Our familiar seagulls are in decline. Their numbers have fallen by 33% in the past 50 years. The red-billed gull’s conservation status is no longer classified as Common but as At Risk – Declining.

This sobering assessment is based on a national survey carried out between 2014 and 2016 by more than 100 volunteers. They recorded the number of pairs at the breeding colonies, the only reliable way to get a handle on such a roving bird.

The survey recorded a total of 27,831 pairs, a far cry from the 40,000 pairs estimated in a survey in 1965.

The decline is most marked in the biggest breeding colonies, which used to be on the offshore islands. In the first half of the last century, tens of thousands of birds were breeding on the Three Kings Islands, 55km northwest of Cape Reinga.

In 1995, the numbers had fallen to about 20,000.

In the recent survey, there were only 1763. It was the same picture on the remote Mokohinau Islands, in the northern Hauraki Gulf.

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The most recent survey found more breeding colonies than the historical survey uncovered, but the individual colonies were smaller. Most were not on islands but on mainland New Zealand, on coastal cliffs or rocks, and some on sand or shingle. There is a large colony on the sulphur flats of Rotorua.

What is going on with our tarāpunga? Perhaps it is the same, sad story of introduced predators that have destroyed so many of our native bird populations. This seems to be a major factor at the large and long-studied colony at Kaikōura, where 3210 pairs were recorded in the recent survey.

There, in grisly detail, researchers record the mayhem that feral cats, stoats, and ferrets wreak on eggs and chicks. People and uncontrolled dogs are also a threat to tarāpunga.

Stoats and ferrets like to steal tarāpunga eggs.

But that is not the full story. Predation does not explain the huge declines on the pest-free Three Kings and Mokohinau Islands, which once supported the very largest red-billed colonies.

Another factor is at play, a factor essential for birds both on islands and on mainland New Zealand, and that is high quality food.

Adult birds may sustain themselves on the sources we provide, scraps from the roadsides, refuse dumps, even fish and chips, but breeding birds and their chicks need better quality food. They need krill, the planktonic, shrimp-like crustacea that swarm on the surface of coastal waters.

The abundance of krill is linked to variations in the Southern Oscillation Index that predicts the intensity of El Niño or La Niña atmospheric events. La Niña years are good for krill and therefore good for breeding red-billed gulls. Gulls and their chicks go hungry in El Niño years.

But these La Niña/El Niño flipflops are not new.

Tarāpunga can live a long time, up to 30 years, and the population might be expected to compensate for fluctuations in breeding success. Yet analysis from Kaikōura shows this is not happening.

The Cape Brett colony, including nests and chicks.

pest control has been done for many years. And during the recent survey, 1190 pairs of gulls were nesting undisturbed within the restricted zone of Marsden Point oil refinery.

Despite these islands of hope, the outlook for our iconic seagull is poor.

But we can all help. Communities can do pest control to protect breeding colonies, and owners can restrain their dogs on beaches.

We can all spread the story of the decline of tarāpunga and pause to admire them, with their lipstick red beaks and feet, their dove-grey wings tipped with black, and their immaculate white breasts.

These chicks are just a few days old.

Declines in bad years are not being entirely made up in good years. Perhaps it is an insidious effect of climate change reflecting a slow deterioration in ocean conditions; perhaps it is linked to a general rise in sea temperatures.

Tarāpunga are versatile birds. Some have exploited new, human-made habitats, such as the rock walls of marinas and the roofs of buildings (where they are not entirely welcome).

Numbers have risen substantially at the breeding colony at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula, where

Red-billed gulls are in decline, possibly because of climate change impacts.

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O U R PA R T N E R S

DIY HEALTH &

Beauty

Natural ingredients supplier PureNature has donated more than $110,000 to Forest & Bird. David Brooks

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iwi-owned company PureNature taps into two things New Zealanders love – natural products and our do-ityourself culture.

The online retailer provides ingredients for people wanting to make soaps, candles, skincare, and other personal care products as gifts or for themselves. They also supply small and larger businesses making products to sell.

The range of natural ingredients includes extracts from many native New Zealand plants, including kōwhai, mānuka, kawakawa, and horopito.

“People want to know what’s in their products, and they can do that by buying their own ingredients,” says Melissa Barrett, PureNature’s sales and marketing manager.

The Auckland-based company provides natural ingredients wherever possible and is a certified distributor of organic products through BioGro New Zealand.

PureNature sponsors two different charities. For every online order of more than $20, the company makes a $1 gift directly to the customer’s charity of choice. So far, this has resulted in donations totalling $113,000 to Forest & Bird.

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“We wanted to give back, and we wanted to contribute to society and to the natural world,” says general manager and bird lover Emmett Bowker, who manages the company with Melissa.

The couple see their support of Forest & Bird as an extension of their own business ethos of wanting to make a difference for the better.

“Forest & Bird was a perfect fit, because of our focus on natural products, and it was also important to us to support a local charity,” says Emmett.

“We’re incredibly grateful for their support, and it’s great to work with a company that’s always reviewing its environmental footprint,” says Forest & Bird relationships manager Jo Prestwood.

Emmett and Melissa live together in the bush near Titirangi in Auckland’s west. The couple have a background in herbal medicine and say Forest & Bird’s work is important to them personally.

PureNature strives to provide ingredients that are as natural as possible, supplying organic options whenever possible.

Many fragrances and emulsifiers used to make creams and lotions aren’t

totally pure, but more natural alternatives are increasingly being developed.

“When we see these natural products become available, we definitely try to migrate over to them,” says Emmett.

Factors such as animal testing, sustainable production methods, and vegan status are also taken into account when they buy ingredients.

The same ethos drives the way the pair manage the business.

Melissa explains how they send their waste plastics to be recycled into fence posts and plumbing pipes, and cardboard boxes are shredded into packaging for customer orders.

As part of the drive for constant improvement, the company is aiming to achieve ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems certification, which involves the auditing of PureNature’s performance in areas such as energy efficiency and waste minimisation.

“It’s a big undertaking, but we want to commit to it,” says Emmett.

T E A O M fi O R I

BREAKING BOUNDARIES

Owen Gaffney.

Rebecca McMillan

Two world-class scientists credit the time they spent with Wellington kaumātua as inspiration for their new climate change book and David Attenborough documentary.

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our years ago, UK-based scientist Owen Gaffney came to New Zealand as part of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. He met the world-renowned Swedish scientist Johan Rockström, a Hillary Foundation Laureate, who was in the country at the same time.

The two scientists shared the same orientation experience with Wellington iwi Te Ātiawa, became friends, and went on to co-author Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet.

The book inspired a new David Attenborough Netflix documentary with the same title.

Owen and Johan credit their time in New Zealand for giving

Johan Rockström.

Supplied

them an new perspective on the importance of indigenous knowledge in preventing environmental catastrophe in the face of global warming.

They say indigenous world views are critical when it comes to avoiding climate disasters.

“Western philosophy and economics have destroyed our environment, but indigenous models of stewardship promote resilience and living in harmony with our ecosystems,” said Owen.

The time spent in New Zealand was incredibly important, says Owen, particularly the connections the pair made with te ao Māori during their conversations with Te Ātiawa, in Wellington.

“Māori culture had a significant influence on the book. In New Zealand, both Johan and I had an awakening about how vital it is for the world to go back to indigenous knowledge of environmental stewardship if we are going to live within our planetary boundaries,” Owen said.

The scientists’ book and documentary explore how life on Earth depends on nine environmental thresholds.

They outline how close we are to exceeding these “planetary boundaries”.

Owen and Johan wanted to translate hard science into

accessible actions to combat climate change.

The message of Breaking Boundaries is ultimately one of hope – that humans will avoid environmental collapse through significant changes in how we interact with our environment.

The Edmund Hillary Fellowship has a close partnership with Te Ātiawa Taranaki Whanui, one of the mana whenua of Wellington, the birthplace of the fellowship.

Te Ātiawa kaumātua offered to educate fellows and help them connect with te ao Māori as part of their arrival and orientation in Aotearoa.

Edmund Hillary Fellowship chief executive Rosalie Nelson says the scheme aims to bring entrepreneurs and innovators together to ignite new and groundbreaking initiatives.

“We have more than 100 fellows who are passionate about addressing climate change through renewable energy, education, sustainable (circular) systems, and regenerative agriculture. They see the potential for New Zealand to take a global leadership role.”

Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet documentary is available on Netflix, and the book was released in New Zealand in July.

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FOREST & BIRD

2021 AWARDS BRANCH AWARD

Hoiho at Te Rere.

Southland Branch

Fergus Sutherland (left) leading a working bee at Forest & Bird’s Te Rere hoiho yellow-eyed penguin reserve.

Chris Rance

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ne of Forest & Bird’s oldest branches has been recognised for its outstanding restoration and advocacy work over many years to protect nature in a huge and diverse region.

Southland Branch’s area extends from Fiordland in the west, Stewart Island to the south, and the Catlins to the east, as well as large intensively farmed areas.

One of the branch’s major projects celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, following decades of hard work protecting hoiho yellow-eyed penguins at Forest & Bird’s remote and rugged scientific penguin reserve at Te Rere, in the Catlins.

Another long-term Catlins commitment has been restoration at Forest & Bird’s Lenz Reserve and surrounding Tautuku area in

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collaboration with the South Otago and Dunedin branches.

The branch also maintains a strong presence in the Southland community, holding regular events, attending council hearings, and submitting on proposals that affect nature.

The branch has a vibrant Kiwi Childrens Club (KCC) and is the driving force behind Invercargill’s Spring Eco Fest.

Branch chair Duncan Blair said the award, which recognises outstanding work to protect and restore nature and to engage the local community in conservation issues, was a tribute to the ongoing commitment of members.

“They’re a very dedicated team of people. They all really care about each other and their individual successes, as well as the vision of Forest & Bird,” Duncan said.

Fergus Sutherland

“I think the award is a really good recognition for us and will hopefully raise the profile of the branch here.”

As well as benefiting from the experience of a core of long-term members, the branch is attracting new recruits, partly through links with the Southern Institute of Technology. Duncan said work was under way to set up a Youth Hub for young conservationists in Otago and Southland.

Former chair and branch member for more than 45 years, Chris Henderson, said one of the strengths of the branch was the connections members had formed with other conservation organisations and causes in the region over a long period.

“Our members are such good people to be around. It’s just a joy to support them in any way you can and know they’ll do the same for you. We have the same concerns and aspirations,” Chris said.

Duncan said the future of the branch looked bright, and there were plenty of issues for Forest & Bird to tackle.

“There’s a lot of precious flora and fauna in Southland that I think many people down here take for granted. That’s something we want to make a focus, along with climate change issues, including opposing any plans for new coal or lignite mines,” he said.

“The Southland Branch is active on a number of fronts and full of wonderful welcoming people dedicated to conservation,” added Forest & Bird’s Otago and Southland regional manager Rick Zwaan.

FOREST & BIRD’S YOUTH AWARD TE KAIĀRAHI RANGATAHI O TE TAIAO

Kaya Freeman

Kaya Freeman (left) showing Forest & Bird Youth members how to install a predator trap.

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limate activist and nature advocate Kaya Freeman, of Wellington, has been recognised for her leadership in growing the organisation’s youth network and developing other young conservationists.

Kaya was closely involved in the growth of the Auckland Youth Hub until last year, when she moved to Wellington, taking a leadership role in the capital’s Youth Hub and becoming co-director of Forest & Bird’s national youth network.

Forest & Bird’s prestigious Te Kaiārahi Rangatahi o te Taiao award recognises young people who are developing as outstanding conservation leaders.

“Kaya is extremely well deserving of this award. She’s been a massive player in Forest & Bird Youth,” said Connor Wallace, a fellow co-director of the national network, who also worked with Kaya in the Auckland hub.

“She’s always been there, is

always reliable, and has been pushing Forest & Bird Youth to grow and develop and take on new roles,” Connor said.

This included encouraging the Auckland hub to become more involved in nature advocacy alongside its original handson conservation work, such as restoration of the Hosking Reserve near Albany.

“Kaya has consistently offered support to our Forest & Bird Youth leaders throughout the network and is always available to provide feedback to them on their ideas and projects,” Connor added.

Kaya spent her childhood in a number of different countries before her family moved to Hawke’s Bay, where she became involved in outdoor sports, and environmental and conservation issues.

This commitment stepped up during her university years in Auckland, where she became immersed in organisations pushing

for climate change action as well as Forest & Bird Youth, which she joined when the hub was formed in 2017.

“Living in other countries made me realise what an incredible country New Zealand is. It’s an honour and a privilege to be here and working to protect it,” Kaya said.

She took on a number of roles in Forest & Bird Youth before becoming a co-coordinator of the Auckland Hub in 2019.

“I’ve always seen my role in the organisation as more of facilitating our other young leaders. I try to enable all of these youth teams, and seeing the growth of all of our youth leaders has been fantastic,” she said.

Kaya wants to work to ensure the voice of young New Zealanders is heard in the wider Forest & Bird organisation and by political decision makers.

Kaya Freeman (centre) on the 2019 School Strike for Climate march in Auckland.

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FOREST & BIRD

2021 AWARDS TĪ KŌUKA AWARD

Anne Denny Anne Denny with invasive moth plant weed.

Anne Denny (centre) with volunteers at Forest & Bird North Shore branch’s Tuff Crater project.

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or more than two decades, Anne Denny has performed outstanding work for Forest & Bird’s North Shore branch, including playing a leading role in the ambitious restoration of a local landmark.

Her dedication and exceptional contribution in advancing Forest & Bird’s objectives locally and regionally has earned her the organisation’s coveted Ti Kōuka Award.

Anne helped with the planting of the Millennium Forest at Tuff Crater on Auckland’s North Shore in 1999 and is now proud to see it flourishing.

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“It really does look like a forest.

The trees are doing very well, and it’s a real showcase,” Anne said.

“Now the natives are way above your head. It’s fabulous.”

“Birdlife is increasing, and tūī and kererū are among regular visitors to the forest, as well as a variety of shorebirds in the tidal area.”

Restoration has expanded beyond the Millennium Forest to the rest of the site, including the removal of swathes of pampas grass surrounding the tidal inlet and their replacement with native plants.

North Shore Branch chair Claire

Stevens said Anne had led or coled a weekly working bee at Tuff Crater for a decade and helped run planting days and many other events at the project.

The restoration was one of the largest restoration projects in Auckland, and the work led

by Anne was a key factor in its success.

“Anne has been a pivotal member of the team for more than 20 years and thoroughly deserves this award,” Claire said.

She was also a committee member of the North Shore Branch between 2004 and 2018, and helped run branch events and meetings.

Anne said she loved doing the restoration work and described working with others as a lot of fun.

Asked what’s kept her involved for more than 20 years, she said: “I love weeding. I know it seems crazy, but I enjoy it so much.”

Over that time, she had seen community interest in the Tuff Crater project grow strongly, as has people’s interest in conservation and their local environment.

“When we have a working day once a month, it’s great that people come with their families. That’s how it will carry on into the future.”

Anne is also involved in a local group that gathers once a week to remove the invasive moth plant weed from properties in the Birkenhead and Northcote areas on the North Shore.

Dr Peter Maddison – Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to conservation, Queen’s Birthday Honours June 2021.

Chris Steel/Bay of Plenty Times

APPLE MOTH HERO

Entomologist Dr Peter Maddison has dedicated his life to conservation, and his far-reaching efforts were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in June.

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nown locally in the Bay of Plenty as the “bug man”, Peter has been a member of the Society’s Waitakere Branch since 1985. He served on the Society’s national executive for 15 years, including four years as President.

In 1999, Peter identified the presence of the invasive painted apple moth in New Zealand. Its presence in West Auckland was reported to local and national authorities, leading to a $65 million eradication programme that averted a potential disaster for New Zealand’s horticulture industry.

Peter has been an active member in a host of local environmental

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groups, including being a founding member and Trustee of Weedfree Waitakere and Eco Matters Trust, chairing the Waitakere City Council’s Water and Environment Committee for five years, and being on the Pacific Science Association Scientific Committee for nine years.

He was a founding member and is scientific advisor to Project Parore, a pioneering catchmentwide ecological restoration project based in Katikati.

He voluntarily conducts bioblitzes (ecological surveys) in Miranda, Katikati, and Whatipu that have led to the discovery of several new bacteria and animal species.

One of Peter’s aims is to restore biodiversity over large areas in partnership with local communities and organisations, and his nationally significant bioblitzes have made progress towards this goal.

Dr Maddison is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London and a Distinguished Life Member of the Royal New Zealand Forest and Bird Society.

“Peter well deserves this award, and we congratulate and thank him for his long services to conservation,” says John Staniland, from Forest & Bird’s Waitakere Branch.

Originally from England, Peter worked as an entomologist at the then DSIR in Auckland, becoming the foremost New Zealand expert on pests affecting coconuts.

“He used his skills to greatly expand the species list of insects around Auckland. This was of great benefit to Forest & Bird’s Matuku Reserve in particular,” adds John.

He later moved to Katikati in the Bay of Plenty and was instrumental with other Forest & Bird branch members there in setting up restoration projects in the Kaimai Mamaku forests.

A TASK FOR ALL TO SHARE When a person becomes a member of the Society, it can be assumed the impelling motive is a love of nature, so pefectly apparent in New Zealand’s wealth of fauna and flora, its spectacular mountains, charming coastal scenery with the many inviting bays and headlands, the clear air, fertile plains, and abundant pure water. It can also be assumed that each member accepts the responsibility of helping to do the best of his or her ability to preserve these lovely and inspiring natural resources in their unspoiled state for ourselves, for our children, and for their children.

Forest & Bird, August 1971, issue 181

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GOING PLACES Jack and Blake head out to sea.

Gabe Vink Wackernagel

INTO THE

WILD

Blake Hornblow and Gabe Vink Wackernagel connect with seabirds, sharks, and seals during a two-week kayaking adventure to Rakiura Stewart Island.

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voyage around Rakiura by sea kayak had been a dream of ours for years. Aware of global climate issues, we wanted to connect with the natural world, which means so much to all of us, often more than we realise during our everyday busy lives.

“Protect what you love” was the purpose and vision for our twoweek expedition, with the mission of raising awareness and funds for Forest & Bird, whose nature protection values align with ours.

Together with our friend Jack Waddell, we headed south to New

In Oban, about to set out on their epic paddle, (from left) Blake Hornblow, Gabe Vink Wackernagel, and Jack Waddell.

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Zealand’s third-largest island Rakiura, an important biodiversity jewel in the Southern Ocean, in March 2021. We’d compare this expedition to climbing one of the three greatest peaks of Aotearoa, but in the wild ocean environment in small seafaring vessels. It’s a potentially dangerous undertaking in the face of Rakiura’s notorious wild weather systems and rough seas.

After 13 days and three hours on the water, we stepped out of our kayaks onto the sandy beach at Oban, where we had started two weeks earlier. It’s hard to express how we felt during the trip – a profound sense of freedom, of being alive, and of being connected to nature. During the rough passages, there were moments of fear (and then relief) and, overall, an understanding about how small we humans can feel while exploring remote, wild, and pristine natural areas of our world.

Rakiura, which translates as the land of glowing skies, was first visited by early Polynesian and Māori paddlers who fished and hunted tītī muttonbirds. The early 1800s brought boats of early

European sealers and whalers, and some settled, creating various small settlements around timber, boat building, farming, and fishing.

In 2002, Rakiura National Park was created, with 157,000ha (85% of the island) protected, creating a sanctuary for native forest to regenerate and its birdlife to flourish. We benefited from this protection as we camped among mature rimu, miro, kamahi, and southern rātā trees listening to kiwi, kākā, and kākāriki.

We paddled with kororā little blue penguins, royal and Salvin’s albatross, fairy prions, giant petrel, skua, thousands of terns, shearwaters, cormorants, and gulls.

We counted a total of 35 species of native birds over the two weeks.

During the trip, we observed the behaviour of New Zealand sea lions, gill sharks, and kekeno New Zealand fur seals, tasted seaweed, kelp, shellfish, crayfish, and various fin fish. We were careful to minimise our human impact and leave no trace of our visit.

Our expedition began in Oban, travelling anti-clockwise along the coastline, sometimes close in bays where we could hear birdsong.

Sometimes, we travelled more than 5km offshore, where a 5–6m swell would surge up and down beneath us, causing us to lose sight of each other in the multi-storey-housesized waves.

The ocean felt alive, powerful currents formed by Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, where incoming and outgoing tides would flow up to five knots, at times with us and other times against.

Sometimes at tidal bottlenecks, like the one near the South Cape, it would create up to 6m waves. This is where we felt especially small, exposed to the great Southern Ocean on one side, kilometres of battered cliffs to the other, and a confused chop from the rebounding waves in the middle.

All we could do was keep on paddling.

Sitting in the seat of a kayak for 10 hours every day, paddling 60km, getting motion sick, sore and tired, wet and sweaty were some of the physical and physiological challenges we faced. Then we would get up in the dark, pull on our damp paddling clothes, and head out to sea for another 10 hours.

Using huge amounts of energy in strenuous paddling against headwinds, getting whipped in the face with sea spray became a normal, part of our life, and I look back on it fondly. It gave us insight into what we are capable of and how far we can push the limits, and how much we can learn and grow from living at one with our natural world.

Sunset on East Ruggedy Beach.

Blake Hornblow

As well as telling our story and sharing our feelings and photos, we wanted to explain how we felt about the responsibility of visiting a wild place like this one. It’s not enough to simply appreciate our natural world – we must also protect, preserve, regenerate, and care for it. This is our responsibility as kaitiaki of one of the most amazing places on earth.

Rakiura has a tiny population, but this remote place isn’t immune to the effects of unsustainable human impacts, which is taking away from the wilderness that we value so much. We watched fishermen chop off the heads and fins of sharks, fish caught in the unstable practice of gill netting. We found rubbish, mostly plastic waste, and a lot of

Two male New Zealand sea lions fight over females.

Blake Hornblow

commercial fishing gear washed up on remote pristine beaches.

While it’s great to see so much of Rakiura protected and so much effort going into looking after individual species, including hoiho yellow-eyed penguins, their entire habitat is at risk, with only 0.05% of New Zealand’s ocean area protected in marine reserves.

In 2016, the World Conservation Congress overwhelmingly passed a motion urging governments to set aside 30% of marine environments as protected areas by 2030. New Zealand abstained from voting. A bold movement is needed, and this is why we want to direct our efforts and funds through Forest & Bird, helping us move towards a marine environment we can all be proud of.

Thank you a thousand times to those of you who supported us along the way. Our donations are going towards Forest & Bird’s campaigns to create more marine reserves and to end the deadly bycatch of seabirds and marine mammals by commercial fishers.

Blake Hornblow is an ecologist, kayaking guide, and photographer – see blakehornblow.com. Gabe Vink Wackernagel is a an outdoor instructor and educator.

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OBITUARIES

The quiet power of words

F

ormer president, independent book publisher, and writer-photographer Gordon Ell spoke up for New Zealand’s natural heritage over many decades of involvement in Forest & Bird.

One of Gordon’s earliest successful conservation efforts, after joining Forest & Bird in 1969, was to lobby for the protection of the gannet colony at Muriwai.

The birds had returned to nest on the mainland in 1979, and Gordon, who by then was chair of Forest & Bird’s North Shore Branch, persuaded the local council to fence off the breeding site to keep the public and dogs away.

The new fence was completed in 1981. Four years later, the branch contributed $2,000 towards additional fencing at the colony. The Muriwai gannets are today one of Auckland’s major natural wildlife attractions.

Gordon joined the Executive of Forest & Bird in 1983 and was national president from 1990 to 1993, after serving six years as vicepresident.

One of his most significant contributions during this time was the plan he submited to Council in 1988 for the formation of New Zealand’s first national children’s conservation organisation.

The idea was taken up with Noted author, publisher, enthusiasm by branches around the and environmentalist country, and the Kiwi Conservation Gordon Ell edited Forest Club (KCC) was born. It is still & Bird magazine for seven years. thriving today, having inspired several generations of young people to love and value nature.

In the 1970s, Gordon represented the Society as a statutory member of the Waipoua Forest Sanctuary Committee. He was also appointed to the Northland National Parks Board, advising the Department of Lands and Survey about conservation issues in the Auckland north region.

In 1990, after becoming president, Gordon became the Society’s representative on the New Zealand Conservation Authority. This statutory body had the job of investigating and recommending natural areas for protection to the Department of Conservation.

After standing down in 1994 and being awarded a Distinguished Life Membership, Gordon continued to represent the Society on the New Zealand Conservation Authority, where he was lobbying for a kauri national park in Northland, until 2000.

In August 1996, he wrote a piece entitled “What 60

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

happened to the Kauri National Park?” In it, he described 100 years of advocacy for the remnant kauri forests of Northland. Forest & Bird had helped draft the proposal to create a new national park in the 1980s, but the project stalled over Treaty of Waitangi claims.

A noted writer and photographer on natural and human history, Gordon founded the independent publishing house The Bush Press in 1974. He went on to edit and publish Forest & Bird magazine from 1998 to 2005.

In his final issue, Gordon highlighted some of his favourite stories over the past seven years of his editorship, including being one of the first publications to document New Zealand’s threatened seamounts and the proliferation of coastal development.

He also enjoyed advocating for national parks, highcountry reserves, and world heritage areas, and stories about forgotten species and environments, including the southern oceans, orchids, carnivorous plants, and nudibranchs.

“My personal philosophy has been to present an exciting range of nature stories, reflecting the riches of wild New Zealand and the threats they face, for a readership of people who like nature but may not be experts in conservation,” he wrote.

“My preference has been for positive stories which show what people can do to help arrest or reverse the decline in New Zealand’s nature and wildlife. Things may be grim, with so many rare and endangered species, but an informed community can make changes for the better.

“Forest & Bird is largely the product of enthusiasts and people who are doing things in nature conservation.

The work of volunteers in the field is an inspiration. It has been good to be part of it.”

In 2000, Gordon received the Order of New Zealand Merit for services to journalism and conservation.

He carried on supporting the Society over the next two decades, most recently as an advisor to our Centennial History Project, where he was quick to champion the important role of grassroots conservation and branch volunteers in many of Forest & Bird’s campaign wins.

Gordon Ell died on 1 April aged 81 after a short illness.

Caroline Wood

Passionate plantsman

Ken Clark in his beloved Hall’s Arboretum.

K

en Clark, of Thames, died in April after doing what he loved most, looking after native bush in his own backyard. The 97-year-old was carrying out conservation work on a hillside when he fell. As a result of this accident, he passed away on 28 April 2021.

Ken was a member of Forest & Bird’s ThamesHauraki Branch for 37 years and in that time inspired many volunteers to take care of local habitats as well as doing countless hours of conservation work himself.

He chaired the branch in 2012 but preferred getting his hands dirty in the natural world.

He was the motivator for three significant projects, including the Waihou Wetland restoration, near Thames. Each summer for more than 13 years, Ken applied for funding to provide 800+ plants, fertiliser, spray, trap, baits, and sundry hardware for the project.

This work started on the western side of the Waihou River but switched its focus to the eastern shore after the construction of the new Kōpū Bridge destroyed the wetland that had existed there. He also organised annual plantings that saw volunteers rehabilitating salty river silt and mud, inundated at times by king tides and floods. When the time came for Ken to step aside from this project, others stepped in, allowing the wetland to continue to thrive.

In 2016, Ken featured in a Forest & Bird article about his work on John William Hall’s Arboretum, which was established in 1873 and is thought to be the oldest of its kind in New Zealand. Over the years, Ken spent many hours working on the rundown, weed-infested Thames-Coromandel District Council-owned land, secured more than $150,000 in grants for planting and predator control, and helped persuade the local council to designate the reserve as an arboretum. He arranged Forest & Bird walks two or three times a year through this most impressive area of established trees and instructed historians and botanists in the value of the collection.

The Kirikiri Bird Corridor, south of Thames, was formed in November 2010 by a group of landowners and residents, including Ken. With his encouragement, this work was sponsored by the Thames-Hauraki Branch of Forest and Bird, with the aim of improving biodiversity through the restoration and protection of forest canopy trees – such as matai, miro, kauri, and pūriri. This created a corridor that allows birds, reptiles, insects, and even fish to expand their territories, improving biodiversity throughout the area. Ken’s own property was once a macadamia orchard but is now replanted with thousands of native trees. Fortunately, another Forest & Bird member is attempting to fill Ken’s giant shoes, ensuring that this legacy will not be lost.

Ken made a huge contribution to nature conservation in the Thames-Hauraki region. He was a wonderful man, and we thought he would go on forever.

We will miss him hugely.

Frances Burton, Chair of the Thames-Hauraki Branch.

Ken Clark spent countless hours restoring plants in Halls’ Arboretum, Thames.

Serena Burton

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

Tai Haruru Lodge Piha, West Auckland Sleeps 5+4 hop0018@slingshot.co.nz 09 812 8064

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Spring 2021

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LAST WORD

New Zealand fur seals are well adapted to life in the sea and along the rocky shoreline, and have a thick layer of fur and blubber to keep them comfortable in this environment.

Glenda Rees

SILLY ABOUT SEALS Kekeno populations have made a remarkable recovery in New Zealand, and DOC has some advice for how to interact with them safely.

N

ew Zealand fur seals were hunted extensively in the 16th to 18th centuries, with some experts estimating the population reached as low as 10,000 seals.

After sealing was outlawed, kekeno gradually returned to our coastlines. The last population count in 2001 estimated there were 200,000. This number is certain to be much higher today.

This rebound is something to be celebrated, but it does mean we need to adjust to having more kekeno in our lives – on our beaches and near our cities.

Seals are most often found on rocky shores but are curious and exploratory by nature and can be seen all around the coast in unusual places. They occasionally travel up rivers or as far as 15km inland.

These animals are also very clever and have the potential to become accustomed to humans and handouts very easily, stopping them from returning to a normal life at sea.

Between May and September, young seals and male seals of any age can be spotted as they leave their breeding colonies, explore, and rest. This includes newly weaned pups finding their way in the world.

Although very charismatic, kekeno are wild animals and should be treated with respect, says the Department of Conservation.

“It’s really exciting that fur seals are doing well, and winter time provides for some unique and special encounters with them,” said Laura Boren, Science Advisor for DOC.

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“But it’s important to remember that this is all part of their normal behaviour, and they are really resilient animals. Watch and enjoy them from a distance.”

DOC has a hands-off approach with seals and will only intervene if the animal is in obvious danger, such as getting too close to a road, tangled in debris, being harassed at a public beach, or being seriously injured.

Sneezing, coughing, and crying are all normal seal behaviours. Pups may be left alone for days at a time while their mother forages at sea.

DOC’s advice is to never touch or handle a seal, as they can be very aggressive if threatened. It is also a breach of the Marine Mammals Protection Act. “If you are walking your dog in areas where seals regularly haul out, or see a seal on your beach, put your dog on a lead until you are away from the seal,” adds Laura.

SEAL SPOTTING GUIDELINES n n n n

Do not get closer than 20m.

Do not get between the seal and the sea.

Do not touch or feed the seal.

Always keep dogs on a leash, under control, and away from seals. n Ensure you keep small children at a safe distance when watching seals.

If you see a seal which is severely injured, being harassed, or in obvious danger, call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

Parting shot Predator eradication expert Professor James Russell took this shot of a Chatham Island snipe last year while visiting the Chatham Islands, including, Pitt, Rangatira, Mangere, and Star Keys to scope out the potential for a Predator-Free Rēkohu programme.

He managed to photograph every Chatham Island endemic bird except for two petrels that hadn’t yet arrived to breed on the islands. “Snipe are secretive but were once abundant across Aotearoa. Due to rats, these wading birds are now only found on the most remote pest-free islands,” he said. “On my last day on Mangere Island, this bird was obliging, and I took this shot as Chatham Island black robins flew overhead.”

WILD ABOUT NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION How to enter: Share your photos of native birds, trees, flowers, insects, lizards, marine animals, or natural landscapes, and be in to win.

Send your high-res digital file and brief details about your photo to Caroline Wood at editor@forestandbird. org.nz. The best entry will be published in the next issue of Forest & Bird magazine.

The prize: The next issue’s winner will receive this huia fine art print by Hannah Shand (limited edition, A2 size, RRP $380). Huia were last seen in New Zealand in the early 1900s, and the drawing represents the birds’ companionship, as male and female huia bonded for life. Hannah creates realistic and timeless bird artworks using black fine-tip pens, capturing the special character of each species in exquisitely fine detail. For more information, see www.hannahshandart.com or @hannahshandart.

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