Welcome to the February/March issue of our newsletter. No images? Click here NZAEE Seaweek - Kaupapa MoanaSaturday 29 February - Sunday 8 March 2020 Hosted by the NZ Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE), Seaweek - Kaupapa Moana is New Zealand’s annual national week celebrating the sea. The ocean is important to all our lives, no matter how far you are from it! Join Seaweek events around the country to celebrate this year's theme Connecting With Our Seas and whakatauki: Ko au te moana, ko te moana ko au – I am the sea, the sea is me If you would like to organise an event for Seaweek 2020 or get your school or community group involved please contact the National Coordinator. Find more information on the Seaweek website and Seaweek Facebook page. NoticesBirds New ZealandWhat birds are where? The NZ Bird Atlas is Birds NZ's nationwide citizen science bird survey over the next 5 years, which will map the occurrence of all bird species in NZ within a 10x10 km grid across the entire country. This map will help guide conservation management and habitat restoration for decades to come. If you can identify birds, you can help. So wherever you are, especially if you are in remote places, record the numbers of each bird species you see or hear during at least 5 minutes at one spot or on a 1 km walk. Visit the Bird Atlas website for all the information you will need to use the free eBird app. New Zealand Marine Studies CentreEast Otago Coastlines: Monitoring Change Yet another reason to go to the beach... This project is an ongoing citizen science project encouraging communities, scientists, and environmental managers to collect and share observations from Coastal Otago. It started with a mini-bioblitz on the Pleasant Estuary and in Karitāne last year, where around 70 marine species were found from a day of searching! We are interested to hear from other communities to document seaweeds and sea creatures between Palmerston and Balclutha. Observations of species from anyone visiting or using the Otago coast are highly valuable so we have set up a project using iNaturalist NZ to share photos and data - check it out here. Otago MuseumParticipatory Science Platform Got a community research idea? There's a fund for that! An Otago-based Participatory Science Platform (PSP) is seeking applicants for its 2020 funding round. The money is available for projects that will enable community groups and researchers to work together on locally relevant research projects. To be considered for the fund, the research question should matter to the local public, researchers and the community should work side-by-side, and the project will actively share research results. Each project can request up to $20,000. The community group or their science partners can apply for funding. Community groups can include students/rakatahi, schools, kura, local rūnaka, or business, industry, environmental, or cultural organisations. Proposals are due by 12 noon, 18 March 2020. For more information, go to the Science Into Action website or email Dr Claire Concannon (Project Coordinator). Trees that CountEveryone knows that trees really do count and with the challenges of climate change its even more important that we put the spade in the ground. Since February 2019 we’ve funded 35,000 native trees in the Otago region. We’re a conservation charity with the vision to help plant 200 million native trees across New Zealand. So, whether you’re planting one native tree in your backyard, hundreds in your community or thousands on a farm we want to know! If you’d like know more about Trees that Count or are looking for funding local planting projects, please contact Regional Adviser Paul Pope through the Trees that Count website. EventsTe Rūnanga o ŌtākouNgāi Tahu Treaty Festival 2020Thursday 6th February, 10am-3pm Ōtākou Marae Open to the public, all welcome! Join Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou in a full day of festivities at Ōtākou Marae, starting with a pōwhiri at 10am. Enjoy entertainment from 11am until whakakapika at 3pm. Please allow for peak traffic on this day. We encourage using public transport. Easy access for you to drop off and pick up Kaumātua to the marae and festival. No parking on Tamatea Road or at the Marae. Expect some walking from additional carparks to festival. Bring picnic blankets and a picnic or cash for food and for craft stalls (some eftpos available).
New Zealand Marine Studies CentreMarine Metres Squared (MM2) workshopsThursday 13th February, 3:30pm-5:30pm Friday 14th February, 12:30pm-2:30pm The NZMSC will be hosting a series of workshops in the Otago region that aim to demonstrate to teachers how to engage students in local environmental monitoring. To achieve this, workshops and practical sessions will be held to discuss and demonstrate three monitoring projects: Marine Metre Squared, Sustainable Coastlines Litter Project and Shark Spy. Find out how these projects can encourage and engage children in science and environmental awareness both in and out of the classroom. There will be an after-school 2-hour workshop session with a 2-hour practical session on the shore on the following day. Students are welcome (and encouraged) to participate in the practical sessions. Thursday 13th February - 3:30-5:30 pm - Workshop in central Dunedin, location TBC Friday 14th February - 12:30pm -2:30pm - Practical session at Brighton Beach If you are interested or would like more information, please email Aless Smith.
Botanical Society of OtagoEco-evolutionary stories about plant diversification in New ZealandWednesday 19th February, 5:20pm Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street Plant radiations are a feature of the New Zealand flora and contribute endemic elements to many ecosystems. In this talk Bill Lee from Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research explores what he is learning about the chronology, trait development, ecology and evolution of the modern flora by looking at woody and herbaceous lineages through time. Immigration, abiotic and biotic selection and geography have all played a role in facilitating species-rich groups, especially after major extinction events and the appearance of new biomes. Contact: Gretchen Brownstein Weekend Field Trip to InvercargillFriday 21st February, 5:00pm Leave from the Department of Botany car park These weekend trips have proved very popular in the past. This is a preliminary notice until plans have been finalised. The plan is to visit Invercargill, set up a base at one of the local camping grounds (preferred option at this stage is the Beach Road Holiday Park, close to Oreti Beach), and explore sites of botanical interest there. There is a lot of scope as there are many diverse natural areas close to Invercargill. If you are interested in going, email David Lyttle or phone on (03) 454 5470 New Caledonia: a Botanist’s ParadiseWednesday 11th March, 5:20pm Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street Peter Johnson from Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research will speak to the “Botanist’s Paradise” of New Caledonia: so-claimed in an interpretation panel at the Noumea Aquarium. New Caledonia has a flora of some 3000 taxa, compared with c. 2400 in NZ. Johnson visited as a young NZ botanist in 1978 with a camera for black-and-white film, and another for a strict ration of 35mm colour slides. He then revisited in 2019 with a digital camera. Join him for a travelogue. Contact: Gretchen Brownstein Volunteer activities Department of Conservation Sandfly Bay Volunteers October 2019 - April 2020 Sandfly Bay is not only a popular spot for tourists, but is frequented by sea lions/whakahao, New Zealand fur seals/kekeno, and yellow-eyed penguins/hoiho. Join us as a volunteer to help educate visitors about the special wildlife that visit the beach and how we should share the space with them. Email Karen to register and ask any questions. Department of Conservation Clutha Planting Days Weekdays from 9:00am-4:30pm Join DOC on a day out enhancing habitat for New Zealand’s native freshwater fish species that call the lower Clutha River/Mata-Au catchment their home. There are trips coming up in February/March. All the details are on the DOC website. Email Matt to sign up. Quarantine Island/Kamau TauruaOpen Days 29th February & 28th March Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua is a special place in the heart of Otago Harbour, with a fascinating ecology and history. You are welcome to come over to relax and explore the island, and/or join us in our conservation work. At the moment, we're focusing on tree planting and weed control. We are gradually restoring native bush on the Island, to foster biodiversity of birds, insects and lizards. The charter boat will pick up at around 9.30am from Back Beach, leaving the island at around 3.30pm. Cost is normally $15 per person or $7.50 per child for the boat return. Check out the website for all the details. Email quarantineisland@gmail.com to book a spot.
Orokonui EcosanctuaryRegular Volunteers The operations team at Orokonui are keen to recruit regular volunteers to come up on either Tuesdays or Thursdays and give them a hand. Moderate fitness is required. Tasks change as the year rolls around but can include: track maintenance & monitoring, construction work, trapping line management, bait station management, fence monitoring & maintenance. Want to know more? Email volunteer@orokonui.nz
Orokonui EstuaryRestoration Project This project aims to restore the wetland and surrounding forest to its former glory. It is a pleasure to work in peaceful surroundings amongst wetland and forest flora and fauna. Volunteers meet on two Sundays and one Wednesday each month to release plants from weeds and to plant out new areas. All tools are provided and there is no regular commitment required. Lifts from town can be arranged. Email Chris Baillie if you'd like to join the team! Find more volunteer activities |