Welcome to the August/September issue of our newsletter - there really is something for everyone! No Images? Click here Stop the Dirty Dozen invasionThere are 13 common weeds threatening our native habitat – a baker’s dozen – that you and your community can help bring under control. Submit sightings to be in to win $100. Competition closes 30 August 2017. NoticesYellow-eyed penguin writing competitionWrite and win a ‘be a ranger for the day’ prize. Are you a Dunedin school student who loves writing stories? Help us celebrate the launch of the oral history of the Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust. Write a short story to raise environmental awareness about Dunedin, the wildlife capital of new Zealand and a UNESCO City of Literature. Closes 30 September 2017. Open to all Dunedin school students. More information about the competition
Forest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation ClubThe club for kids who love the big outdoors. The Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC) gives kids (5-13) the opportunity to go on nature activities with their friends.
Clutha District Council Biodiversity FundFunds 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. EventsOur changing oceans: how animals bring us messagesOtago Museum Thursday 3 August 2017, 5:30pm Professor Stephen Wing will discuss why we need to make use of a wide range of tools to access and interpret records of environmental changes for the future of our marine ecosystem and the practice of kaitiakitanga (stewardship). Otago Museum Hutton Theatre, gold coin koha. HortTalk - Predator free Dunedin: The latestFriday, 4 August 2017 , 12 midday A group of community-based entities has signalled its commitment to build on the biodiversity of Dunedin and surrounds. Hear about this contemporary, collective approach to controlling predators and allowing native ecology to thrive. For further information contact Clare Fraser or phone 03 477 4000 Dunedin Botanic Garden information centre, free admission. eBird workshopsSaturday 12 August, 10:00am to 12 noon and 1:30 - 3:30pm. Do you want to take your bird observations to the next level? Birds NZ is sponsoring two, free, hands-on workshops in Dunedin; "An Introduction to using eBird" and "Advanced eBird: extracting and using data for conservation." For more information or to register, email Mary Thompson. Entry by Koha Flax and Maori Perfume WorkshopOrokonui Ecosanctuary Sunday 13th August, 2pm-4pm Learn about karetu (scented grass), the significance of perfume traditionally for Maori and the way in which it was prepared and adorned. Workshop will be at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, 600 Blueskin Rd. Cost: $10 Bookings essential: info@orokonui.nz or 482 1755
Life on braided rivers: All is not wellForest and Bird Tuesday 15 Aug 2017, 5:30pm An upper Waitaki perspective by Albert Rebergen in his role as Senior Ranger Project River recovery for DOC Twizel (2014-2016) Room 215, 2nd floor Zoology Benham Building, 346 Gt King St, Dunedin, free admission. Visit the Otago Forest and Bird website
Sustainable Dunedin City - AGM and TalkWednesday 16 August 2017, 5:30pm AGM, followed by talk by Ruth Zeinart – Dunedin Food Resilience Coordinator. Hear about SDC’s work over the last year, share your ideas for the future of SDC and elect officers for the coming year. Room D101, D Block, Otago Polytechnic (access from Harbour Terrace) Visit the Sustainable Dunedin City website Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua Community AGMSunday, 20 August 2017, 1-3pm North East Valley Community Rooms (potluck lunch at 12pm). Visit the Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua website Catch and Release: Collecting Otago’s insects & spiders without pins and needlesBotanical Society of Otago Wednesday 23 August 2017, 5:20pm Dr Steve Kerr will provide an introduction to the remarkable variety of creatures that surrounds us while giving some tips to those, who are photographically inclined, on how to capture and record them. For further information, contact Robyn Bridges or phone 03 472 7330. Benham Seminar Room, Room 215, 2nd floor, 346 Great King Street, free admission.
From the high Arctic to the Sub-Antarctic and a little in-betweenBirds NZ Talk Wednesday 23 August, 7.30pm Claudia Mischler will describe her adventures as a seabird researcher and conservationist. For further information, contact Mary Thompson maryt@actrix.co.nz Room 215, Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, Dunedin, free admission
Whenua me tuhituhi/Writing in relationship with the landQuarantine Island/Kamau Taurua Saturday 26 August 2017
Visit the Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua website Site visit to Moira and John Parker's Property, Hooper's InletBotanical Society of Otago Saturday 26 August 2017, 9:00am - 5:00pm The slope behind Little Hoopers Inlet supports a surprising variety of regenerating fern, shrub and tree species. From there we can walk through young totara beneath a kanuka canopy and on to the shrubland on the top of Varleys Hill. Meet at Botany Department carpark at 9:00 am or Hoopers Inlet Hall at 9:30 am. Contact David Lyttle, phone 03 454 5470. Visit the Botanical Society of Otago website HortTalk - Urban Conservation in DunedinDunedin Botanical Gardens Friday, 1 September 2017 , 12 midday With Conservation Week approaching, it’s time to reflect on the benefits that nature brings to urban people and the ways that DOC and others are helping conservation efforts. For further information contact Clare Fraser or phone 03 477 4000 Dunedin Botanic Garden information centre, free admission. Visit the Dunedin Botanic Garden website Te reo Māori noho and biodiversity monitoringQuarantine Island/Kamau Taurua Friday evening 8 September - Sunday, 10 September Head on over to the island for a Māori language noho and biodiversity monitoring session. Visit the Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua website for more details.
Discover Sooty Shearwaters on the Otago PeninsulaForest and Bird Sunday, 17 Sep 2017, 9:00am Walk to the sooty shearwater site at Sandfly Bay, Otago Peninsula. Contact Graeme Loh or phone: 021 132 2436. Departs at the Botany Department car park, crossing of Great King & Union Streets, $7. Where do godwits stop off on the way to their breeding grounds and why is it important?Forest and Bird Tuesday, 19 Sep 2017, 5:30pm Talk by Bruce McKinlay, Technical Advisor Species and Ecosystems at DOC. 16th Annual Geoff Baylis Lecture: Living in the rainshadow: New Zealand’s most distinctive and threatened ecosystemsBotanical Society of Otago Wednesday 20th September, 2017, 5:15pm-7:00pm This year's guest speaker is Dr Susan Walker, an ecologist with Manaaki Whenua—Landcare Research in Dunedin. For the last 20 years her research has focussed on the past and present ecology of some of New Zealand's driest, and most invaded and modified terrestrial ecosystems. Susan will describe the cryptic ecology of a disappearing biome, focusing on the fauna and flora of the Mackenzie Basin. Contact Robyn Bridges, phone: (03) 472 7330. Castle 1, University of Otago (drinks and nibbles starting from 5.15 pm in the concourse). Free admission.
Te Rere, thirty-six years helping penguins and other birds on the remote Catlins CoastBirds NZ Talk Wednesday 27 September, 7.30pm Well-known conservationist, Fergus Sutherland will discuss results of important research relating to conservation of penguins in the Catlins area. For further information, contact Mary Thompson Room 215, Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, Dunedin. Free admission.
Volunteer activitiesPost-flood clean-up at Orokonui estuarySunday 27 August, 9.30 am - 12ish Sunday 24th September, 9.30 am- 12 ish What do you do when you have a revegetation project in an estuary and a massive flood goes through it? Answer: Take photographs, attempt to work your way along a deep and very wet silt-covered track, spend 20 minutes easing flood debris of all kinds out of the tangle of branches that you know might be a young kowhai lying on its side …. Lend a hand to help release plants at the next working bee. Tools, gloves and morning tea are provided. Bring water, warm clothing, a rain jacket and gumboots or robust shoes. Transport can be arranged if you don’t have any .Just register on the DOC website. Save The Otago PeninsulaJoin a STOP Working bee on Tuesday and Sunday mornings. STOP is currently co-ordinating the 2017 planting at one of the two catchment planting sites on either side of the Hereweka Harbour Cone Block. STOP also has regular working bees on other sites ranging from a DOC Scientific Reserve, to a wetland site and a dune site, as well as the bush remnants fenced off on the side of the Portobello Peninsula and the Memorial Seat in Broad Bay. Contact Lala for more information: lala.frazer@gmail.com
Seeking Conservation MentorsOtago Youth Wellness TrustDo you have an interest in the outdoors, volunteering and conservation to walk alongside young people with possibly the same (or at least a growing) interest. Application and training require approximately 10 hours of your time spread over the next three or so months. Contact Ruth Harrison at Otago Youth Wellness Trust, phone 03 4747 305 ext 219 if you would like more information or find them on Facebook Attention Jacks of all tradesKowhai Grove is a place where young people and their community connect to the land. It is a place to learn and contribute to a small-scale farming operation, and grow food together and as individuals. We are particularly keen to hear from (retired) Jacks of all trades to make our many building projects happen. If you are interested, get in touch with Annika: annika@malcam.org.nz. For more information visit www.facebook.com/kowhaigrovedunedin Become a Trail BlazerDunedin and Coastal Otago is blessed with an awesome variety of trails. Join the Trail Crew team to help make these trails into the ultimate experience. There are more adventures and ground to cover than you can shake a stick at. Looking for a volunteer opportunity for your staff or group?Get in touch with our friendly Volunteer Project FacilitatorAre you looking for a fun volunteer experience for your staff or group of friends to get involved with but don't know where to look? Get in touch with Catherine! She can help match you with current projects that match your interests and needs, or help create something new that ticks your boxes! Email: catherine.hosted@dcc.govt.nz
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