RYMAN RESIDENTS SUPPORT BANKS PENINSULA CONSERVATION PROJECT

A conservation trust and Canterbury eco-tourism business have welcomed the work done by residents of the Diana Isaac Retirement Village to help safeguard a precious penguin colony on Banks Peninsula.

Both the Helps Pōhatu Conservation Trust and Pōhatu Penguins work closely on removing predators from the peninsula to help maintain a ‘taonga species’Little penguin/ Kororā.

The residents from Diana Isaac village in Christchurch have been making the wooden trap housings to catch pests, such as stoats and rats. The white-flippered penguins nest in Pōhatu/Flea Bay near Akaroa, where predator control has been ongoing for the last 40 years.

Geraldine Guillemot-Peacock helps maintain the traps on behalf of the trust and Pōhatu Penguins, which runs wildlife and peninsula tours. Recently, a group of residents from Diana Isaac village, including Bruce Gray, Gary Archbold, Norm Reid and Brian Hill handed over 25 traps to Geraldine.

The Helps Pōhatu conservation trust protects Little Penguins at Pōhatu and the wider Banks Peninsula through predator control, rehabilitation of injured birds, weekly monitoring of the colony, surveys and education and advocacy.

The traps have been laid for decades now, so there is a need for replacement for rusted mechanisms and the housings. There were also traps lost during a 2021 floodwater event on the property.

There were 182 traps, split across 10 trap lines, within the property that stretches hundreds of metres inland. These traps are checked weekly for the pests as well as for any required maintenance, so damaged traps can be repaired and gaps in the plan can be filled.

Gary also thanked Pōhatu’s Averil Parthonnaud, who last year hosted a slide show and presentation to teach Diana Isaac residents about the penguins and how they need to be protected from such predators.

The presentation and slide work reminded Bruce of a series of family holidays that were held at the Akaroa Top 10 Holiday Park and the walks in the bush.

Bruce, Gary, Norm and Brian are thankful of the help they have received from others in a wider project, particularly from a team of builders at Charles Upham village, led by resident Lynn Andrews. Lynn, a former watchmaker, has been helping ensure the wooden trap housings are built to specification for conservation groups.

Given the staged purchase and delivery of wood and other screws and partitions for the traps, the assembly process has been speedy and well executed, Bruce says.