Kererū
The newsletter for members of Zealandia: The Karori Sanctuary Experience
We’ve enjoyed some remarkable highlights over the last year; banding our 400th kaka chick, more than doubling our number of known breeding kakariki pairs and confirming a successful eradication of introduced fish from our upper lake and tributaries are just a few of the year’s conservation achievements. We can now begin to raise the profile of native freshwater species with sanctuary visitors, aided by support from the Wellington Community Trust. Their $8,000 grant enables us to complete an engineering and feasibility study for an enhanced freshwater viewing area. This will be a great new asset to help our visitors engage with an often overlooked eco-system. Summer 2012-13 saw our best cruise ship and wedding season yet, providing strong financial support for our restoration and education goals. Our total visit numbers were 6% under budget, but our visitor revenue is expected to come in much closer to target. Also pleasing are the continuing successes in our education activities. It is great to be able to reach beyond the fence, with the launch of the Halo Project partnership with the Kelburn School community. This project takes our knowledge to the heart of community action for restoring local biodiversity. Our volunteers continue to make a tremendous contribution to the sanctuary’s work – well illustrated in the latest story about their crucial efforts overcoming recent storm damage to the fence. Volunteer effort is central to our successes.
Our enhanced partnership with Wellington City Council (WCC) As you know, last year’s consultation with WCC confirmed the City’s desire to see Zealandia tackle its challenges and use its position as a natural treasure to serve Wellington well. In July 2012 Council and Zealandia formed an enhanced partnership, and since then a lot of work has gone in to setting up for the new arrangements, and for our future sustainability: A new Board of Trustees has been formed. A new group of Guardians has been formed, made up of four elected directly by our members and three appointed by key stakeholders Wellington City Council, Victoria University and local iwi. Council has acknowledged Zealandia’s value to Wellingtonians and our living city by providing base level funding to maintain Zealandia’s financial security from July 2012 to June 2015.
Developments Accessibility and connections matter. Together, the new Board and Zealandia staff have been hard at work determining how best to make Zealandia more affordable to locals, and how to make our membership more relevant, easier and more rewarding for people to lend their support. We are aiming to implement some carefully considered changes this spring.
JUNE 2013 No. 48
Dear Members
Research is central to our vision. We continue discussions with Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) around options for co-location of staff and students at Zealandia. This partnership opens up exciting possibilities for visitors to experience our living laboratory. The discussions also raise questions about how we best use our space. It’s a challenge that includes meeting the needs of our own staff who are still in the “temporary” bungalows first occupied 18 years ago. These are crowded, and difficult to keep warm and dry in winter so we need a better solution. From a recent headline review of visitor experience, we’ve had some good pointers about the needs of our visitors. While many of you are very familiar with the site, first timers sometimes find the flow of our Visitor Centre confusing. There are other suggestions for things we can do to improve positive engagement. For example, we need to cater well for those where time, or other factors, mean they can only manage a short walk. We’ll be drawing up a plan which will let us roll out actions over time. So there is a lot happening, and keeping the communication going through a time of change is vital. Trustee and foundation member Pam Fuller now has a special role leading the Board’s liaison with sanctuary “alumni” and supporters, with a particular focus on those who contributed in the early days of the sanctuary and may find it more difficult to keep up an active link. This is just one way we intend to enhance communications with our members and volunteers. Your support for the sanctuary and our work is vital. In turn, we value your ideas and your comments, so please stay warmly connected with us.
Denise Church, Chair.
Natasha Petkovic-Jeremic, Acting CEO.
If you haven’t booked yet see the details on the back page.
22 Jul - 3 Sep
BE SIROCCO’S PERSONAL ESCORT Enter our prize draw for your chance to escort Sirocco from Wellington airport and release him at Zealandia! www.visitzealandia.com/kakapo
Mike Bodie / DOC
Jo Moore
Memories to last a lifetime – the night you met a kakapo! YouTube sensation Sirocco is one of just 124 of these charming flightless parrots left on the planet. All kakapo live on protected islands so don’t miss this rare chance to meet him at Zealandia.