No images? Click here Alert Level 1 and the great outdoorsNew Zealand at Alert Level 1 means you can now freely head out on your next outdoors adventure. Our DOC facilities are fully open – including visitor centres, huts, campgrounds and toilets. But we need to do it safely and follow the Government’s “Golden Rules for Everyone at Alert Level 1” to keep ourselves and communities healthy and safe. If you're sick, stay home. We encourage you to keep a record of where you're visiting for contact tracing if there are future COVID-19 cases. We're also moving into the winter season so it's important to plan, prepare and follow safety advice. Budget 2020 overviewBudget 2020 provides funding to DOC in three parts: nature based jobs as part of the Government’s COVID-19 Economic Reset and Recovery package, operating funding to invest in staff and Treaty Partner engagement and investment in Fiordland infrastructure. Read an overview of the budget. Image: Richard Rossiter | DOC New Sounds of Science podcast episodeKelly Frogley 'Plant Pro’ talks to Erica Wilkinson, DOC Threatened Species Ambassador, about the weird and wonderful world of non-vascular plants. These are plants without a vein system for moving nutrients and water. Learn about her work with non-vascular plants, green-blindness and the importance of looking down. Image: DOC RecreationGreat Walks 2020/21 season bookings openingThis summer presents a great opportunity for New Zealanders to get out into nature with bookings on Great Walks opening 9-11 June. Minister Eugenie Sage shares opening details and differential pricing trial results. How to: backyard camping editionBackyard camping is another of our favourite ways to enjoy nature at home. It’s good for wellbeing, for adventure, and for a bit of a laugh as well. So dig out that camping gear and go on a little at-home adventure. Image: Ruth McKie | DOC Nature backgrounds for your virtual callsLet nature in with a set of backgrounds for your virtual calls. Who doesn't want a kākāpō joining their online meetings and why not bring the Milford into your Zoom calls? Choose from a variety of native species or Great Walk backgrounds to bring into this week's calls. Image: Jake Osborne | DOC Get involvedWays to help make NZ Predator Free from your backyardContributing to a predator free New Zealand from home means working together with your community to welcome our native wildlife. Predator Free 2050 is a huge ambitious goal, but with a few simple actions, you can bring nature back to your backyard. Conservation with iNaturalistFiona, Suliana and Clayton introduce us to iNaturalist as a way to let nature in and learn what those critters, plants, weeds or organisms are around you. This data can be used by scientists to understand where our conservation threats or taonga species are in NZ. Image: Clayson Howell | DOC The hihi volunteer’s guide to Tiritiri Matangi IslandSo you want to be a hihi volunteer on Tiritiri Matangi Island? Well you’ve come to the right place - volunteer Leani shares her guide on all you need to know. Grab your sunscreen, hiking boots and binoculars, and let’s get going. Our workOrange-fronted parakeet/ kākāriki karaka releaseRecently 18 of Aotearoa’s rarest forest bird, the orange-fronted parakeet/kākāriki karaka, were flown from Christchurch for release into the Canterbury high country as part of the species recovery programme. Sam Rowland from the Threatened Species Ambassador Team shares her experience with us. New brooder helping boost kakī numbersThe latest kakī count is in and it shows a 31% increase in kakī numbers with 169 of these endangered black stilt now in the wild. Many organisations are working together to boost their numbers. Watch this video showing the mahi happening to look after chicks in the brooder. Lockdown on the islandsWhen you consider that living on an island is a form of isolation from the mainland, did lockdown look and feel any different to normal life? We asked our dedicated rangers that live on the islands of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park/Ko te Pātaka kai o Tīkapa Moana to share their experiences during Alert Levels 3 & 4. NatureLife of PyMy name is Py and I'm a Pycroft's petrel, a small seabird. I live on pest-free Motuora Island, in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. I'm pretty lucky to be able to share my short life-story with you, as I've only been around since early December 2019 (I was a bit of an egg back then!). Lizards in the heartlandNew Zealand has more than 110 species of lizard, both geckos and skinks, and none of them are found anywhere else in the world. Kororā getting a helping hand with GISRecently we talked to volunteer Serge Peeters who is putting his professional skills and time to good use protecting one of New Zealand’s most iconic bird species, the little blue penguin/kororā. Learn more about the work of volunteers at New Zealand GIS in Conservation. Image: Ian Sara Photo of the monthSpotted recently - a pod of 60 dolphins swimming upstream in the Piako River. Dolphins entering rivers in this way isn’t common but the river flows into the Firth of Thames so it’s thought that they were chasing fish. See more from DOC |