Department of Conservation Kapiti Wellington newsletter July 2013

7/28/2019 Department of Conservation Kapiti Wellington newsletter July 2013

1/9

This newsletter provides a

snapshot of whats been

happening in DOCs Kapiti

Wellington Area.

To subscribe to the newsletter,

please email:

[email protected]

Kapiti WellingtonArea Office

PO Box 5086

Lambton Quay

Wellington 6145

Ph: +64 4 472 5821

Fax: +64 4 499 0077

www.doc.govt.nz

Kapiti Island declared stoat-free

Stormy Somes Island

Happy Birthday Nature Space!

Working together at

Weed Swap Day

Taiaha tradition continuing on

Matiu/Somes

Waitangi Day with DOC

Rare gecko discovered

Kapiti Island gets new boardwalk

Sperm whale washes up on

Kapiti Coast

Kime Hut rebuildThe fight to stop illegal trading of

endangered species

Restoration makes cents

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DOCs three-year stoat eradication programme on Kapiti Island came to a close at

the end of summer, with the final sweep by stoat detection dogs and their handlers

confirming the island is stoat-free. The eradication programme cost approximately

$800,000, and was triggered by the sighting of a stoat on the previously-predator-

free Nature Reserve in November 2010.

Over 200 traps and 480 tracking tunnels were set across the entire island.

Three stoats were caught between February and August 2011 but no

evidence of stoats has been found since then.

Nearly all females are already pregnant when they leave the nest, and

stoats are strong swimmers, so Colin Giddy, Biodiversity Threats

Programme Manager for DOC, thinks that probably a pregnant female

arrived on the island and gave birth to a litter.

Although the extensive trapping system will remain to capture any future

stoat invaders, the detection programme will be scaled back, and stoat

detection dogs will no longer need to visit the island regularly.

Kapiti Island is one of New Zealands premier bird sanctuaries and is

home to many nationally-important populations of rare and

threatened birds,

- continued on page 2

the Kapiti Wellington Area Office newsletter

C onservation for prosperity --- T ia kina te tai ao, kia puawai

From left: Crete, the stoat-detection dog with handler, Scott Theobold; stoat trap baited with egg

July 2013

Kapiti Island declared stoat-free

DOC-com

DOC-COM > KAPITI WELLINGTON AREA OFFICE NEWSLETTER > JULY 2013 1

In this issue
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.doc.govt.nz/http://www.doc.govt.nz/mailto:[email protected]


2/9

Happy birthday Nature Space!

Nature Space is a website for groups, individuals

and landowners who are undertaking ecological

restoration work in New Zealand, and it recently

celebrated its first anniversary.

There are hundreds of community restoration

groups and landowners in New Zealand

dedicating time and effort to restore our native

ecosystems.

The conservation work carried out by these

communities is vital not only for the value of our

biodiversity, but also for the health and prosperity

of New Zealand.

Nature Space provides resources for those

involved in restoration projects, and is also a

great way for groups to communicate with each

other about upcoming events.

The website aims to support people involved in

restoration you can find out about groups

working in your own neighbourhood, and also get

resources to help you or your group achieve the

best conservation results.

Since Nature Space was launched on 26 April

2012 the website has logged:

1,098,132 plants in the ground 9,702 possums killed 2,601 stoats killed 176 groups active 22,790 group members.

For more information on restoration practices

and/or for restoration groups who wish to add

their details to the site, please visit:

www.naturespace.org.nz.

And check out their first newsletter:

-continued from page 1

such as little spotted

kiwi, hihi (stitchbird),

and teke (saddleback).

Teke are particularly

vulnerable to stoat

attacks because they

roost in holes, meaningthey have little hope of

escape if a predator

comes through the only exit. However, their numbers did not

appear to decline during the time the stoats were on the

island.

The stoat, Mustela ermine, poses aserious threat to birdlife in NZ

Tale of a tempest

2DOC-COM > KAPITI WELLINGTON AREA OFFICE NEWSLETTER > JULY 2013 2

For twelve nights in February and March, Matiu/Somes

Island was host to Bard Productions sell-out adaptation of

Shakespeares The Tempest.

The story of murderous drunks, dreamy young lovers, and

the magic and trickery of forest spirits was woven through

with details from the tragic and eventful history of the

island.

A Tempest Off Somes Island began at dusk as soon as the

audience got on the ferry at Queens Wharf. As the play

gets darker and more intense, the night will get darker, said

director, Paul Stephanus.

The ferry sailed out to be shipwrecked on Matiu/Somes

Island, then, after clearing biosecurity checks at the Whare

Kiore, the audience were led up to the historic maximum-

security quarantine station where the play continued.

Mystical creatures and grotesque monsters created by

award-winning makeup artists and costume designerscaptivated the audience in the quarantine building during

the first act. The show finished outside under the summer

night sky before the audience was returned to Wellington.

Ariel fromA Tempest off Somes Island
http://www.naturespace.org.nz/http://www.naturespace.org.nz/


3/9

Pest plant specialists from DOC,

GWRC and KCDC were at the Weed

Swap stall to talk to people about the

best way to dispose of their weeds.

Woody Weed from Weedbusters also

made an appearance, and although acouple of kids got scared and cried, he

was a mostly-fun way to help educate

people about the serious threat that

weeds pose to our

environment.

There are now more exotic plants in

New Zealand than native ones, but

gardeners can help create safe

habitats for our lizards, birds and

invertebrates by planting locally

grown, eco-sourced natives.

A common hurdle to effective weed

control is living beside people whoare not actively destroying invasive

plants.

Approaching neighbours who do

nothing to control weeds on their own

property is difficult, but a friendly

chat usually helps.

If you would like more information on

banned plants in New Zealand, check

out the National Pest Plant Accord.

Whareroa Farm is a 438-hectare Recreation Reserve near

Mackays Crossing on the Kapiti Coast. In December 2012, a

plan for the management of Whareroa Farm was prepared

and agreed on by the Department of Conservation and the

Whareroa Guardians Community Trust, who jointly manage

the land. The goals for the 10-year plan come under the

general headings of Restoration, Cultural and Historic,Recreation, Education, and Sustainable Farming. The reserve provides an

opportunity to demonstrate integrative management, as the working farm must

exist alongside recreation activities and habitat-management operations.

The public were invited to bring their

worst garden weeds to the Sustainable

Home and Garden Show held at

Kapiti Primary School in March.

The show attracted more than 8000

visitors, with 500 people visiting theWeed Swap stall and getting free

native plants in exchange for their

weeds.

The Department of Conservation,

Greater Wellington Regional Council,

and Kapiti Coast District Council

joined forces to hold the well-liked

event that has been running for nearly

a decade. Its fantastic I hope itgets bigger and more popular, said

one of the visitors.

Weeds are a major threat to New

Zealands unique native species and

ecosystems; they are almost always a

plant species that humans introduced

to the country, and the problem is

actually much worse than people

realise.It is no accident that often the

weediest places are the places closest

to towns over 70 percent of invasive

weeds were originally garden plants.

People continue to spread weeds by

growing them in their gardens,

accidentally spreading seeds and

fragments, and dumping rubbish

inappropriately.

Working together at Weed Swap Day

3

Rob Cross from KCDC

Susanne Govella from GWRC

Darryl Kee from GWRC


Woody

Weed from

Weedbusters


4/9

Taiaha tradition continuing

on Matiu/Somes Island


Ka mau te wehi

Ng tamatoa

(Kei runga) Tahi, rua, toru pukana!; (kei raro)

Matiu/Somes Island

Te Ati Awas Waiwhetu Marae-based group held their second taiaha

wnanga (forum) on Matiu/Somes Island this summer.

Waiwhetu Marae say, not only are their plans of reviving mau taiaha

going from strength to strength, but that they intend to continue for a

hundred years.

The taiaha wn anga fit wonderfully within the He Tangata

management objectives for the island that were drawn up after the

Treaty settlement of 2009.

This wnanga is a living, working example of what mana whenua,

the settlement, and the vision are all about, says Terese McLeod, an

iwi kaitiaki (tribal guardian) for the island.

The four-day wnanga, held in January, had approximately 40 male

participants, ranging from seven to sixty years old. The training

combined technique, drills and fitness, while the living classroom

encouraged conservation kaupapa mtauranga (education).

Matiu/Somes Island is a predator-free Scientific and Historic Reserve,

unique for its proximity to a large urban centre. It provides a wnanga-

setting without mainland distractions.

When Mita Mohi, a kaumatua (elder) for Te Arawa, began holding

taiaha wnanga nearly thirty years ago on Rotorua's Mokoia Island,

very few tribes were teaching the ancient fighting form.

Those initial wnanga have aided the resurgence of taiaha throughout

the country, producing 20,000 graduates some of whom now run the

wnanga on Matiu/Somes. Future plans include an Iwi Junior

Rangers programme for those showing a strong interest in

conservation; wnanga participants travelling to the island by waka;

and a women's wnanga focusing on raranga (weaving) and karanga

(ceremonial call).


5/9

A rare native gecko, known as the

goldstripe gecko, has been found in

abundance on Kapiti Island during a

post-rat-eradication lizard survey.

Over three days and nights in

February this year, four teams of

scientists from the Society for

Research on Amphibians and

Reptiles of New Zealand (SRARNZ)searched for populations of lizards

to see how they are going now that

the island is predator-free. Lizards

were found that were there before

the rats were eradicated copper,

ornate and brown skinks; forest geckos; and common skinks and geckos but the unexpected thrill of the survey was the

discovery of the at-risk goldstripe gecko. It was thought that the goldstripe lived in just two areas Mana Island and the

region around coastal Taranaki but the discovery of the lizards on Kapiti Island supports the idea that the Mana Island

geckos have been there all along and are not a population that was introduced by accident. This means that goldstripesprobably live all along the coast from Wellington to Taranaki, so keep your eyes open. Goldstripe geckos are fast

runners and excellent jumpers, and they like to sunbathe on flax leaves and eat spiders. They are also about the colour

and size of a banana they even love to eat bananas. You know, we should probably just call them banana geckos.

Fun, food and a freebie is typically

what people want at these events.

While we werent about food we did

provide fun and freebies, said

Matiu/Somes Island DOC Summer

Ranger and stand volunteer Terese

Mcleod.

About 100 people, mostly family

groups, visited the DOC stand at

Wellington's waterfront

Wharewaka, a key venue for this

years Waitangi Day celebrations.

Wellington green geckos were the

public relations superstars, with

visitors excited and enthralled to

see them so close.

The rangers also made up a simple

animal-identification and Te Reo-

pronunciation game for people to

win prizes with a conservation

theme.

The geckos and name game

provided a neat gateway to big and

small conversations about

conservation, said Terese.

The DOC stand was staffed by

Matiu/Somes Island Rangers, Jo

Greenman and Terese Mcleod;

Eastbourne Forest Rangers, Derek

Sole and Jan Heine; and DOC

Community Relations Ranger, Julie

Buchanan.

Waitangi Day with DOC Geckos and games

The goldstripe, like the rest of New Zealands geckos, gives birth to live babies,

while almost all the other geckos in the world lay eggs


Rare gecko discovered


6/9

Kapiti Island gets

new boardwalkAs part of plans to improve visitors experience, a

new boardwalk has been built on Kapiti Island.

Future projects will include new tracks, a new visitor

shelter, additional interpretation signs, and

improvements to the sewage system. And it is hoped

that a visitor terminal will be built at Paraparaumu

Beach. DOC has also increased visitor quotas for the

island and is working with new tour operator

concessionaires.

Sperm whale washes up on Kapiti coastA 15 metre-long sperm whale washed up on

Paraparaumu Beach in mid-January. It is not known

whether the 40 tonne whale died at sea or on thebeach but it was thought to have died from natural

causes.

Kaumatua, Don Te Maipi, performed a karakia and

said it was like a funeral. He was delighted so many

people came to the beach to show their respects.

DOC protocol allowed iwi use of the whale and a

crowd of about 300 people watched as Ngati Toa,

Ngati Raukawa and Te Ati Awa iwi-members took

three hours to remove the whales jaw.Local whale-bone carver Owen Mapp explained that

creating cultural objects or carved artefacts from the

creatures jaw bone enabled contemporary society to

honour the spirit of the whale, "It is a way the whale

can live on."

Tangata whenua and the Department of Conservation

then worked together to move the whale to a burial

site near Queen Elizabeth Park.Adult male sperm whales can grow to 20 metres long

and live for 70 years. They can hold their breath for 90

minutes and can dive down 3 kilometres deep.

Sperm whale mothers care for their calves for more

than a decade, and pods of sperm whales spend a

quarter of their time socialising, usually in the

afternoon. Sperm whales also have the biggest brain

of any known animal to have ever lived on earth.

They are found in all oceans but are classified asvulnerable.

They're obviously significant animals, it's the world's

largest toothed predator, and certainly it's a

significant thing for the local community, said Te

Papa collection manager of marine mammals Anton

van Helden.



7/9

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The Convention of International

Trade in Endangered Species of

Wild Fauna and Flora is an

international agreement between

governments, aimed at ensuring

that international trade of wildanimals and plants does not

threaten the species long-term

survival in the wild.

Over 34,000 species are covered

by CITES, and with 178 Parties

signed up to the Convention it

makes it one of the largest

conservation agreements in

existence.Trade in endangered species is

estimated to be worth billions of

dollars a year and an escalation of

poaching and smuggling in New

Zealand over the last few years has

contributed to declines in our

gecko populations.

But at the recent 16th CITES

conference, the level of protection

Two critically endangered sawfish

have recently been confiscated

because people misunderstood the

difference between sawfish and

swordfish. And dont forget about

the sawsharks. If you are unsure ofwhat you can bring into the

country, check with your local

CITES Management Authority.

for our native geckos was

increased. Now the power of both

international and national

authorities to conduct

investigations has increased, and

harsher penalties can be imposed.The New Zealand Customs

Service and the Ministry for

Primary Industries provide New

Zealands CITES border control.

They seize CITES specimens (or

products thought to contain

CITES specimens) that do not

have valid accompanying CITES

permits. DOC is then in charge ofconfirming what exactly the item

is, which could be anything from

coral or insects, to animals made

into various things like handbags

and drums.

The majority of seizures at

Wellington International Airport

are stony corals (Scleractinia spp)

from Australia.

The fight to stop illegal trading of endangered species

The green sawfish, Pristis zijsron

The builders walk for three hours or are taken to site by helicopter, while the

materials are all flown in

Kime Hut rebuildThe highest hut in the Tararua Ranges

Kime Hut is being rebuilt.

The new hut, which will sleep twenty,

will be warmer than before, with

underfloor, wall and ceiling insulation,

and double-glazed windows that face

the sun.

Builders were told to keep their eyes

open for wildlife in the

neighbourhood, and managed to find

an endangered alpine grasshopper

and a Wainuia urnula one of our

native, predatory landsnails both

well out of their usual areas.

Watch this space for Hut opening

dates.



8/9

8

More than 200 people attended Wellington regions

Restoration Day at the Silverstream Retreat in April.

The free, annual conference for individuals and

community groups involved with ecological restoration

projects throughout the greater Wellington area

provides opportunities for restoration group-members to

gain new skills and inspiration through a programme of

workshops, talks and fieldtrips.

This years theme was: Restoration: Sustainable and

Mainstreamed, which focused on methods for building

partnerships and ensuring that the restoration groups

were themselves sustainable.

Restoration makes good monetary sense, its not just a

tree-hugging exercise, keynote speaker Fred Lichtwark

told volunteers.

Fred is the Manager of Whaingaroa Harbour Care, a

successful Raglan-based restoration group which plants

trees to stop sediment-runoff from farmland into the

Whaingaroa Catchment.

Since 1995, the group has planted 1.1 million native trees

along streams and harbour edges, and more than 40

farmers have participated by fencing and planting an

estimated 450km of riparian areas.

The programme works because there is money to be

made out of it by the landowners. Its not a tree-hugging

exercise, its simply a matter of economics, he said.

For the remainder of the day attendees enjoyed

workshops on building sustainable partnerships,

restoration planning, enrichment planting, lizard

monitoring, how to use a monitoring toolbox, and a live-

eel demonstration.

"Restoration Day is a great chance for us to recognise the

people working to make our region a better place to live,

and provide them with a range of practical skills and

ideas to continue their great work," said Restoration Day

organiser, Amy Brasch from the Department of

Conservation.

The day was hosted by the DOC, Greater Wellington

Regional Council, QEII National Trust, Nature Space,

WWF and other regional authorities.


Lisa Clapcott from DOC shows Restoration Day participants how to use a pest trap. Stoat traps are laid with raw egg or rabbit meat

Restoration makes cents


9/9

DOCs friendly Kapiti Wellington Area Office staff held a working bee to clean up Matiu/Somes Island after the big storm in June

After the wild weather last month Kapiti Wellington Area Office staff

took a trip over to Matiu/Somes Island to help clean up.

The storm that hit Wellington on June 20 did significant damage to

the island.

Lots of trees were blown over, mostly falling across tracks which then

had to be cleared.Jo Greenman, Matiu/Somes Island Ranger, said, It was not a night

to be walking around on the island as there were too many large

things flying about like trees, benches, fences and gutters.

Along with 40m of guttering, windows and gates were also broken

even a picnic table was thrown around.

Most of the penguin nesting boxes, bait stations and tracking tunnels

that were swept off the coast of the island turned up 3km away on

Petone beach.

And the shoreline path that had been grass became prettily pebbled,with some of the really big rocks blown up from the beach showing

the true power of the storm.

Stormy Matiu/Somes Island

Left, top to

bottom: Debris

washed up on the

beach; fallen trees

blocking a track; a

new stony path

Right: KWAO staff

putting their backs

into it

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Department of Conservation Kapiti Wellington newsletter July 2013

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