Wind Storm Damage to Valley Floor track

There was a HUGE and quite freakish wind storm over the top of the south (and other spots around the country too) mid week. Power, phone and tv cuts - lots of tree fall all over the region and a three to four day water shortage are the some of the results!
These photos are of the public track at BWS, the valley floor track, which is blocked to safe passage up to the top dam until we can get some certified chainsaw volunteers and Nelmac workers to come and have a look!







This is the view for the opposite side of the valley - you can see why the track is out of action!





The top dam stairs took a hammering from boulder fall. Lots of damage up here!



Yah! A rat in a trap... something we DID want to see!

Enviroschools Regional Event

On July 29th Nelson/Tasma Enviroschools held their regional event.
This involved a small groups of children from a number of local schools and a bus!


Here we all are, lined up for the welcome speech at Nayland Primary.

First stop was Nayland Primary where their envirogroups got to showcase
* paper making
* flax weaving
* stream monitoring
* Pa Harakeke (flax garden)


Here is the paper making team showing us how to create paper!


Kate Cobb (Enviroschools Facilitator for Tasman & Nelson) making some paper!!

After we left Nayland Primay we headed up here to the sanctuary for lunch and a look at the stream with Mel McColgan from Waimaori.


After lunch, some great fruit kebabs and a sanctuary talk - we bused over to Hira School where we were warmly welcomed with some beautiful singing and some freshly baked cookies!!! Thanks so much, Hira School!!


COOKIES!!!

At Hira School we toured ourselves round on a savenger hunt mission based on their marvellous racetrack that circles their perimeter. We got to see their stream monitoring team, their native nursery, herb garden and functional pizza oven!


Matt Lawrey turned up to report to take some pictures and report for The Leader.

Big thanks to the Enviroschools team for the well organised and fun trip!!!
Can't wait for next year!

Peanut Butter Amnesty!

Resource Photos

Got another set of resources photos printed and laminated them myself. They are smaller than the last set. Also added a few more to the big set.
Am trying to work out a way to organise them now - numbering? I don't want to limit the set by numbering because I want to add to it.

Am working on a set of questions to go with each photo and with certain combinations. Activities to do with them and also a write up of information for each one.

We end up using these photos a lot for different groups - all ages!

High Water @ the Brook today!

Kakapo chicks safely home and doing well

The six kakapo chicks, which thousands of people took the opportunity to meet, are settling in well following their recent return home to Codfish Island / Whenua Hou.

More than 8000 people saw the newest additions to the small but increasing kakapo population at the Invercargill and Nelson public viewings held last month.

All of the chicks were removed from Whenua Hou / Codfish Island, off Stewart Island, at a few weeks old to be hand raised as there was not enough natural food for their mothers to raise them.


Getting the chicks home safely was a major relief for the National Kakapo Recovery Team. The team had worked tirelessly over the previous three months, with many sleepless nights after three of the chicks became ill. Fortunately they recovered and are doing well.

While there are still risks, as is the case for any young animal when it goes out on its own, being on predator free Codfish Island and still under the watchful eye of a team of dedicated DOC staff, means that they are as safe as they can be.

There were no problems with the trip from Invercargill to Codfish said Deidre Vercoe, Technical Support Officer on the Kakapo Team, who escorted the chicks home.

The chicks will spend the next month in a large outdoor pen being fed increasing amounts of natural food before being slowly introduced to the wild where they will have to care for themselves.

This breeding season has shown that birds as young as six years old can breed successfully so it is hoped that these chicks may themselves be parents around 2014.

Signs are looking very favourable for another, even better, breeding season next year with potentially up to 40 chicks being produced.

"There are still a lot of things that could happen between now and then, but it is really exciting," Ms Vercoe said.
"We could have nearly a 50 per cent increase in the world population of kakapo in one year which would be a huge step in the recovery of the species."

The Kakapo Recovery Programme is a partnership between the Department of Conservation, Rio Tinto Alcan NZ Ltd and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.

For more on teh kakapo recovery project click here

NIS Roots of Life class

Today was the last day for the Term Two Roots of Life class from Nelson Intermediate.
We have had a great time this term exploring concepts of biodiversity both in the sanctuary and at NI school.

Thanks to Mel McColgan from Waimaori for helping us with some stream monitoring and also Lawson from Fish & Game for coming up to the Brook and showing us some electric fishing.
Also a big thanks to Jan Jones from Nelson Intermediate!!

I am looking forward to meeting with the Term Three group to further build on the concepts we have covered and look at ways we can bring some native biodiversity back into the NIS grounds!