Save Kiwi Month 2016

Join the fight to save our national icon

Save Kiwi Month is held during October and is the national fundraising campaign led by Kiwis for kiwi.

Be part of the Great Kiwi morning tea on 21 October, fundraise to protect a kiwi for a year or support the campaign by making a donation.

Takahē Awareness Month 2016

November is Takahē Awareness Month.

Find out how you can help these endangered and iconic flightless birds

Notices

DOC and Outward Bound scholarships for young people

Outward Bound has 6 scholarships available to young people (18-26), who are involved in conservation. Successful applicants will get involved in all the outdoors has to offer, including sailing, kayaking, rock climbing and tramping.

Applications close 5pm Friday 28 October

Read about the Outward Bound and conservation experience and find out how to apply

Life on the Edge photographic competition 2016

NZ Forest & Bird South Otago Branch
This competition celebrates of NZ's coastal environment.

Entry Divisions
Junior: 14 yr & under
Senior: 15 yr & over
Format Print photograph Max size A4
Cash Prizes
Entries close Friday 11 November

For more information contact:
Roy and Jan Johnstone 03 418 1319 johns-stones@rivernet.co.nz
Jane and Jim Young 03 415 8532 janejimyoung@slingshot.co.nz

Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group fundraising calendar

The inaugural Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group Fundraising Calendar 2017 is a superb collection of photos that capture the Otago Peninsula landscapes and wildlife.  All proceeds go towards making the peninsula possum free. Cost $20.

Available from: A number of locations on the Otago Peninsula, i-Site/DOC Visitor Centre (the Octagon), Orokonui Ecosanctuary and online.

National Strategy for Environmental Education for Sustainability

A draft  update of the National Strategy for Environmental Education for Sustainability (EEfS) is out for consultation. Tell us what you think by completing the online survey.

Clutha District Council Biodiversity Fund

 Funds  activities that protect or enhance biodiversity in the Clutha District.

For more information: See the Biodiversity Funding Policy and Download an application form or phone 03 419 0200. 

Are you the next Otago Seaweek Coordinator?

Seaweek is New Zealand's annual, national week about the sea.  There is a vacancy for a  coordinator for the Otago region for 2017 to coordinate and promote what’s happening in Otago. This opportunity requiring a casual commitment from mid December till Seaweek  (25 February to 5 March 2017)

Interested? For more information, email tessa.mills@otago.ac.nz or phone 03 479 5845.

Find more volunteer activities

Events calendar

Hort talk - Digging the dirt on soil
Friday 7 October, 12 noon

 “It takes half a millennium to build two centimetres of living soil and only seconds to destroy it.” Lisa Scott introduces soil basics to help you get the most out of your garden.

Information Centre, lower Botanic Garden.

More details

Public Open Day – Dunedin Botanic Garden Propagation Facility
Sunday 16 October, 1-4 pm

Explore the ‘engine room’ that produces the Dunedin Botanic Garden’s extensive range of plants. Meet at the Propagation Facility, Lovelock Ave.

More details

Birds NZ talk
​Wednesday 26 October, 7.30 pm

Murray Efford on "Urban tui, bellbirds and more". This talk will include findings from re-sightings at sugar feeders of tuis and bellbirds that were banded in Helensburgh.

Room 215, 2nd floor, Zoology Benham Building, 346 Gt King Street, Dunedin.

Botanical Society of Otago field trip, Knight's Bush
Saturday 29 October, 8.30 am

Visit one of the last remaining remnants of indigenous forest on the banks of the Clutha River.  Contact Allison Knight 03  487 8265 or  027 4878265.

More details

Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua Open day and Barn Dance
Saturday 29 October

Help with bush restoration, general maintenance, collecting pinecones, beach clean-ups, tidying up the Lodge, or looking after first-time visitors. There is something for everyone, to suit all ages, fitness, and interests.

After helping out why not put on your dancing shoes and celebrate the milestones of a ‘new’ floor and steel bracing in the historic Married Quarters Building (1873).

More details on how you can help

More details on the celebration

Community Planting - Falcon Street Playground
Sunday 5 November, 2.00 pm

A newly designed playground is on it's way providing for imaginative and explorative play. Delta and DCC staff will be on-site to provide instructions and equipment. Enquiries to Dunedin City Council, 03 477 4000.

Birds NZ talk
Wednesday 23 November, 7.30 pm

Nic Rawlence and Martyn Kennedy on "The Identification of the Otago Shag". The discovery that these shags are a unique species has implications for their conservation status.

Room 215, 2nd floor, Zoology Benham Building, 346 Gt King Street, Dunedin.

Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua Open day
Saturday 26 November

Help with bush restoration, general maintenance, collecting pinecones, beach clean-ups, tidying up the Lodge, or looking after first-time visitors. There is something for everyone, to suit all ages, fitness, and interests.

More details on how you can help

Birds NZ Summer Wader Count
Sunday 27 November, 3.00 pm

These counts have been done for over 20 years providing valuable data on  bird numbers and contribute to an international study on godwits. Various harbour locations. 

For details contact Mary Thompson maryt@actrix.co.nz or 03 464 0787.