Environmental Action in the Community

Jobs for Nature funding enabled SIRCET to expand its operations under the Halfmoon Bay Habitat Restoration Project. The newly expanded project ‘Restoring Rakiura’ significantly increased the area in which SIRCET provided predator control from 210ha to 310ha. It also allowed significantly more area to be searched for the invasive pest plant Darwin’s barberry.

To meet their objectives SIRCET worked on predator control of rats, feral cats and possums. This included creating a trap network on Horseshoe Point, where very little control had been done before. They also set up to do grid searching and control of Darwin’s barberry throughout 1280ha of land around the township. The funding allowed for the recruitment of 17 full time paid staff, which meant that Darwin’s barberry control, which normally would have taken 10 years to achieve, was completed within a two year timeframe. A community liaison was also employed to oversee the link to the local community and work with local and visiting schools.

In mid-2021 the Trust was granted funding through the Department of Conservation’s Jobs for Nature programme to go towards the work benefitting conservation and recreation, and create employment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Conservation work was not the Trust’s core business, but they were very happy to be the organisation to bring it all together around the trails in Fiordland.

Maintaining a planted corridor around the trail and helping to improve the Upukerora River delta with plantings is all part of the brief. Making a big dent in pest plant species such as cotoneaster, broom, gorse and Darwin’s barberry was also extremely satisfying.

The trail is hugely popular, with 40,000 people using it each year, with numbers increasing all the time. Trust members love seeing people of all ages and abilities using the trail, which is a safe and attractive network for people who enjoy it recreationally, or for transport around Te Anau and Manapōuri.

During the journey to re-establish a thriving environment for native species they have expanded their volunteer numbers, their knowledge and the area they trap. They prefer not to use toxins, except when absolutely necessary, and have a reputation for trying new technology and ideas. A network of about 600 toxin-free, gas operated, automatic resetting rat and stoat traps that are also effective on hedgehogs and mice have been installed.

Sourcing and applying for funding, organising volunteer work days, keeping records and liaising with agencies is another significant aspect of their mahi. Their volunteer base includes many people from wider Southland and as far afield as the USA, Britain, France and Ireland. Work days always end with a BBQ and social time to chat and exchange ideas and experiences.

The rewards are there for everyone to see and hear – flocks of kererū, tūī and even the occasional kākāriki visiting.This is truly a project for wider Southland and beyond to participate in and enjoy.

The 61-hectare reserve was the largest single site for them on mainland New Zealand until February 1995, when a fire swept through the reserve, killing many penguins and damaging plantings and forest areas. Since then Forest and Bird has increased fire control and its planting of native species has nearly returned vegetation to its natural state. They have employed a part-time caretaker to oversee the reserve, undertaking weed and pest control, but restoration relies on voluntary effort for most of the work.

Te Rere is a long-term restoration project and everybody’s help is needed and appreciated. Southland Forest and Bird members along with volunteers help with annual native planting days. Their goal is to save the endangered hoiho from extinction by providing an improved native habitat for nesting with plantings, and eradication of predators through trapping and monitoring. This work also benefits many other native species.

Te Rere is a very crucial habitat for hoiho, but in spite of the revegetation work already accomplished, their numbers have plummeted through diseases affecting the species.

The members’ work is helping to support nesting pairs which is a crucial part of efforts to stabilise their population.

The club’s efforts have included building two bridges at Forest and Bird’s Te Rere Reserve in the Catlins, a planting programme at the Ōreti Tōtara Dune Forest in Otatara, funding for pest control programmes and Southland LandSAR (Search and Rescue) team involvement. Their ethos is that without conservation they would not have anywhere to go tramping, therefore it’s important to them to contribute to environmental projects.

Some of their planting efforts act as a carbon offset for travel needed to get to various tramping destinations.

Club members gain a tremendous sense of well-being and mental wellness from getting out into the countryside. They have regular trips away during the year and organise cycle and kayak trips as well. Murihiku Southland and the rest of New Zealand is a pretty special place and club members believe it is very important to look after it.

A core group of 8 to 10 volunteers service stoat and rat traps to protect and enhance the lower Upukerora River and has been monitoring species for the past five years. This special area is home to banded dotterels, black-billed gulls, pied stilts, black-fronted terns and South Island pied oystercatchers.

As well as working to help restore the natural fauna of the lower Upukerora delta, they are encouraging public use that is in harmony with the natural and cultural values of the site. The project is on land owned by several different agencies. The group has worked with local school children to design signs alerting people to the importance of the area and asking 4WD drivers and motorcyclists to respect it.

They are also involved in biodiversity work with the Fiordland Trails Trust. There’s already been some positive indications around breeding, but the group want to collect several more years of data to get a clearer idea of breeding trends.