Misleading remarks in the media erode public confidence in a pest-control tool we urgently need to save species, writes Nicola Toki, the threatened species ambassador for the Department of Conservation. Last Thursday night, Newshub led the 6pm news with a report about 75 kilograms of 1080 pellets being dumped and buried by a contractor to … Read more
Squawk Squad is the social enterprise using modern technology to not only make predator traps more effective but keep its wider community of donors connected with its work. Every year, a massive 25 million native birds are said to be killed by pests, leaving many of our most beloved species – the takahē, kākāpō, and … Read more
Book of the Week: Matt Vance reviews an investigation into “the freaks, maniacs and the greed-addled madmen” who obsessively collect, plunder and steal bird specimens. What is it about birds and obsessives? Birds, like no other animal, seem to bring out the freaks, maniacs and the greed-addled madmen of infinite detail. In June 2009, Edwin … Read more
Ian Tarei has spent over a decade protecting kiwi in the forested hills behind the Eastern Bay of Plenty settlement of Awakeri. Late last month Jason Renes joined him on a kiwi call count to learn how the Omataroa Kiwi Project made its way out of some hard times to become a kiwi conservation success. … Read more
The idea that New Zealand’s threatened species can somehow safely ‘co-exist’ with the onslaught of introduced predators is irresponsible and untrue, writes the Department of Conservation’s Nicola Toki. New Zealand is facing a biodiversity crisis. With more than 4000 species in trouble, some scientists have given us the dubious honour of the country with the … Read more
Why are people ignoring the rāhui on the Waitakere Ranges? Māori researchers Melanie Mark-Shadbolt and Dr James Ataria spoke to a number of kaumatua and kaitiaki around the North Island to discuss what can be done to protect our taonga. In a desperate effort to stop the spread of kauri dieback in their forests, local … Read more
As New Zealanders rally our collective efforts in the pursuit of the ‘crazy and ambitious’ goal of a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050, we mustn’t lose our hearts, writes Nicola Toki. In 2003, freshly minted with a Zoology degree, I began my first job with the Department of Conservation. It only took a couple … Read more
From a new anthology of bird writing in New Zealand, the great naturalist Herbert Guthrie-Smith describes the introduction of a bird known by all: the sparrow. This excerpt is from his classic 1921 book Tutira. In October of 1882, a month, that is, after our arrival at Tutira, a small flight of sparrows rested for a … Read more
New Zealand has a long history of introducing foreign insect predators to control crop pests and weeds. How risky is that? Thanks to a lack of long-term monitoring of our native insect populations, nobody really knows, explains the University of Auckland’s Margaret Stanley. “Is there any evidence that an introduced insect, other than a social … Read more
Jane Goodall is mostly famous for her work with chimpanzees. Her greater feat, writes lifelong admirer Nicola Toki, is showing that we are deeply connected to the living world around us – that through kindness, we can turn things around for our planet. “I have one wish for people in NZ. And that would be that they would be … Read more
From optimistic beginnings in 1890, Arbor Day has fallen into semi-obscurity around the country. But there’s a very good reason why New Zealand needs this day, and more native trees, says Trees That Count ambassador Joris De Bres. So, what are you doing for Arbor Day? Yes, Arbor Day. In case the day dedicated to … Read more
If our native bird species could text the New Zealand public and let us know how they’re doing, what would they say? Forest & Bird’s Kimberley Collins decodes the stats from a new report. Yesterday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released a new report on the “desperate situation” our native birds face. Because I … Read more
If Māui dolphins are a Threatened Species priority, why won’t the government act to stop their extinction, asks the WWF New Zealand’s David Tong. Kiwi, kakapo, Māui dolphins and white sharks all feature on a list of 150 priority species in a new draft Threatened Species Strategy that Minister of Conservation Maggie Barry launched earlier … Read more
The idea that we hold the atmosphere around us in trust, with a duty to protect it for future generations, is taking hold. And the debate is drawing on everything from an 18th century English jurist to contemporary activism by US peoples of colour, writes Claire Browning. Nobody owns the sky, but all of our lives depend … Read more
Department of Conservation ranger populations are in decline, says Forest & Bird’s Kimberley Collins – and it’s having knock-on effects throughout our delicate ecosystem. It’s Conservation Week! Over the next five days, New Zealanders will unite in celebration of our nation’s unique and diverse wildlife and wild places. To mark our occasional successes in saving … Read more