March 7, 2019 11:17 am
When we think of Australia, its continental character springs to mind: vast deserts, bushland basins and fringing forest, farms and cities. New Zealand, much more of an island place. Yet, in rivalry stakes, Oz has us beaten even there.
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February 15, 2019 10:35 am
Over January I’ve managed to get around some of the new places that Predator Free 2050 Limited could potentially work in.
We’ve been flat out over the past year bedding down and entering final negotiations with the seven projects our first tranche of government funding has enabled. So, it was a welcome break to accept an invitation to the West Coast… …more
November 23, 2018 2:32 pm
More important pieces in the predator free jigsaw started to slide into place over the last month.
A Memorandum of Understanding was announced between parties wanting to pursue a pest free Banks Peninsula.
The first traps were laid to enable the return of kiwi to the hills around Wellington
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October 3, 2018 12:00 pm
I’ve been listening to contributors to Predator Free Dunedin. There’s a lot to get around. “We’ve been making good progress,” says Mark Hanger, President of Forest and Bird and local seabird champion, “but Predator Free 2050 has given us something to hang it all on. …more
September 16, 2018 5:00 pm
If we can do it on Waiheke, we can do it anywhere. That’s why we are contributing $2.6 million to an ambitious community-led project to rid the island of rats and stoats. Waiheke is a microcosm of the country. It celebrates diversity and is proudly independent. …more
August 29, 2018 11:47 am
This is what the end game must look like. I’ve been in Fiordland opening a box of tieke (South Island saddlebacks) and letting them fly free into forest made safe from predators. …more
August 8, 2018 12:00 pm
Wellington’s birds are coming back and about to take off. Following tui, kākā and kererū, expect kiwi to start appearing in capital city backyards soon. …more
July 23, 2018 4:26 pm
Something special’s happening in the hills around Whangarei Heads and it’s spreading into pockets of forest north and south of there. …more
July 12, 2018 3:11 pm
I’ve been in Wellington listening to two science symposia Predator Free 2050 Limited and the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. …more
July 3, 2018 8:41 pm
This week’s announcement of Hawke’s Bay as our second major investment opens up important pathways to the Predator Free 2050 goal. I’ve been in Napier over the past fortnight meeting movers and shakers behind Predator Free Hawke’s Bay. …more
June 11, 2018 12:33 pm
Where do you start a predator free mission described at its conception as “crazy and ambitious”? From the bottom, in Stewart Island and Wellington’s Karori sanctuary as Sir Paul Callaghan suggested? …more
June 6, 2018 10:22 am
You’ve got to love the Chatham Islands… When Charlotte, the pilot of a 1950s Convair 580 turbo-prop that has just flown you 1000 km from Auckland, hops into a Cessna to fly another 20 km on to Pitt Island. And when her return is cancelled, locals arrange a fishing boat to get you back. …more
May 30, 2018 2:30 pm
If you look down on Taranaki from a plane you can detect changes around the mountain. The ring plain is becoming veined by the stream-side planting carried out by farmers over the past couple of decades. We’ve just announced a project that will take the restoration of Taranaki’s biodiversity to the next level. …more
May 23, 2018 9:21 am
I’ve been walking around the West Coast’s Perth River Valley with Zero Invasive Predators Chief Executive Al Bramley. I’ve been humming a John Lennon song. It’s easy to imagine a future without predators when you’re with his team. …more
