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Archives For 30/11/1999

Ranger for a day: a close encounter with kiwi and weka

Department of Conservation —  25/02/2013

By Trudi Ngawhare, Community Relations Ranger, Gisborne

Bobby Rangihuna-Harema, a high school student aspiring to be a farm manager, got the opportunity to be a ‘Ranger for a day’ at Motu near Gisborne after winning a Conservation Week competition late last year.

Ranger Joe Waikari setting a possum trap.

Ranger Joe Waikari showing Bobby how to set a possum trap

The Gisborne Herald gets behind Conservation Week every year. They were looking for a different angle and asked if we had a reader’s giveaway. The DOC ‘Ranger for a day’ was an initiative that we had always wanted to do, and this felt like the perfect opportunity.

Bobby, a 14 year old Lytton High School student who will enter a trade academy this year, was entered into the competition by her mum Jenny who thought it would be a good vocational experience. She saw it as an opportunity for Bobby to experience another view of Tane Mahuta (God of the forest).

“This is another area to have a look at when it comes to land management and farming,” said Jenny.

A full day was planned, with the first stop being a photo session for Bobby and her mum at the Gisborne Herald.

Then, after an hour’s drive to Motu, Bobby helped Ranger Joe Waikari track and complete a health check on Tom, a male kiwi.

Joe listening for Tom the kiwi’s transmitter.

Joe listening for Tom the kiwi’s transmitter

The work to address the decline of North Island Brown kiwi (and the protection of other threatened species within the Whinray Scenic Reserve) is part of an important recovery programme run by Whinray Ecological Charitable Trust (WECT), with support from the Kiwis for Kiwi Trust.

During a quick check on the weka traps, Ranger Joe was able to introduce Bobby to a North Island Weka.

Ranger Joe introducing Bobby to a North Island weka.

Ranger Joe introducing Bobby to a North Island weka

Finally, Bobby and Joe took a short hike on the upgraded Pakihi Track (part of the Motu Trails national cycleway) for a bit of native frog spotting.

Ranger Joe Waikari and Bobby checking out a Hochstetter frog.

Ranger Joe Waikari and Bobby checking out a Hochstetter frog

By the end of the day, Bobby was a very happy but exhausted ‘Ranger for a day’, who experienced three rare native species in one day that many never see in a lifetime!

Bobby and her mum praised Ranger Joe for leading them up long steep ridges and through thick bush…. No, not really, but it did provide for a humorous and entertaining hikoi (walk).

Thanks to Bobby and her mum for being such keen ‘Rangers for a day’; and to the Gisborne Herald for supporting Conservation Week and providing an awesome avenue to promote conservation.

In East Coast , , , , ,
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Jobs at DOC: Hannah Edmonds – Ranger

Department of Conservation —  25/01/2013

Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).

Today we profile Hannah Edmonds, Biodiversity Ranger – Species.

Name: Hannah Edmonds.

Position: Biodiversity Ranger – Species.

Hannah Edmonds holds a shark.

Sharks need love too

At work…

What kind of things do you do in your role?

Monitoring, translocating and recovery planning for the following species:

Setting Gee Minnow traps out for Sinbad Skinks, Sinbad Valley.

Setting Gee Minnow traps out for Sinbad Skinks,
Sinbad Valley

What is the best part about your job?

Working in some absolutely stunning parts of rugged Fiordland, on interesting and challenging creatures, oh and with some cool people too!

What is the hardest part about your job?

Trying to monitor and protect species that we know so little about with a limited budget.

What led you to your role in DOC?

I did a Landcare Research Conservation Corps in Nelson when I was about 18. We came down to Fiordland and monitored Fiordland skinks and robins on Breaksea Island among other things, and I was hooked. I ended up doing a suite of pest and species contracts in the Nelson/Marlborough area, and wildlife work overseas for a few years. Then I did the Postgraduate Wildlife Management Diploma at Otago. After that, and another jaunt overseas, I came to Te Anau for a six month contract. That was (gulp) 10 years ago!

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

Taking ‘Kids Restore the Kepler‘ competition winner, four year old Lilli, out to see a kiwi. She was pretty excited and did really well coping with several hours scrambling through bush catching six kiwi chicks!

The beautiful Sinbad skink.

The beautiful Sinbad skink

The rule of 3…


3 loves

  1. My two metre Peter.
  2. Friends and family (including the furry ones too).
  3. Wilderness and wildlife.

3 pet peeves

  1. Anthropocentricity, and anthropomorphism is pretty annoying too. Big words ay, I can tell you’re impressed.
  2. Going without real coffee.
  3. Trying to come up with three pet peeves.

3 foods

  1. Fejoas from Nelson/Marlborough.
  2. Scallops from Stewart Island.
  3. Berry fruit yoghurt icecreams from Cromwell.

3 favourite places in New Zealand

  1. Fiordland of course, in particular the alpine and the special islands.
  2. Kahurangi: Mt Owen, Mt Arthur, Cobb Valley.
  3. Golden Bay‘s golden beaches.
Lilli the lucky four year old competition winner and myself with Haast tokoeka.

Lilli the lucky four year old competition winner and myself with Haast tokoeka

Favourite movie, album, book

  • Movie: Im a bit of a Tim Burton and Guy Ritchie fan… but I’d have to say The God’s Must be Crazy is a winner for giving you the stitch from laughing so much!
  • Album: Oh so many, but the all time bogan classic Hysteria by Def Leppard rocks on! The drummer from Def Leppard’s only got one arm!
  • Book: ‘South’ or ‘Endurance’ about Shackleton and his crew’s unbelievable journey of survival.

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

Become a famous rock star before you get to your late 30’s… oh, and moisturise.

Who or what inspires you and why?

There are many people who have done amazing things the world over, and closer to home who inspire me to live the dream. My inspiration also comes from learning more about our lesser known species and wanting to protect them from extinction.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A famous rockstar, or more realistically, a zoologist.

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

A rockstar of course.

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

Sustainability to me means to keep the motor running—well that’s a contradiction in terms. I mean the mind and body; look after it so it will sustain you throughout your lifetime.

Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year—at home? At work?

I’d like to be growing more vegies, catching more trout, and shooting more deer so there are less trips to the supermarket, less packaging and so I know what I’m eating. Oh and I might buy a better bike so I don’t drive to work so much.

A native New Zealand bat.

Check this out! One of the coolest mammals in the world and it’s endemic to New Zealand! The short-tailed bat is an incredible prehistoric creature with bulk attitude!

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

I’d like to get into the brain and body of a Sinbad skink so I can find out where else in Fiordland’s extensive alpine they are living!

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?

Think of the bigger picture, or entire ecosystems, and why you are doing what you are doing. A trap line for stoats may protect some species such as kiwi or kaka, but what about controlling rodents for other species such as mohua, bats and lizards?

Terror Peak, Fiordland.

Welcome to my office! Alpine lizard survey at Terror Peak, Fiordland

In Fiordland, Jobs at DOC, Native animals , , , , , ,
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Murupara School students give $1000 for kiwi work

Department of Conservation —  09/01/2013

By Steve Brightwell, Community Outreach Coordinator

When a bunch of seven and eight year olds come up with $1000 for kiwi work, it’s a spectacular and humbling example of what happens when people switch on to conservation. When it’s money from kids at a low decile school that they could have spent on themselves it’s all the more impressive.

Te Urewera Whirinaki ranger Aniwaniwa Tawa and others from her office have been visiting the class this year to talk about ecosystems and conservation with a focus on kiwi protection work.

They recently ended the study with a trip to Whirinaki Forest where they experienced the forest first-hand. Following the trip, the class presented the Area Office with a cheque for $1000 to be used to raise a kiwi chick at Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua.

A North Island brown kiwi egg.

Funds from Murupara School will help care for a kiwi egg.

A stunned Aniwaniwa explained: “The class (7 & 8 year olds) have been working with me and [former DOC ranger] Graeme Weavers for most of this year learning about kiwi and the natural environment and were so affected by what they had learnt they asked their teacher what they could they do to help. Between them and their teacher (I knew nothing about this until they presented me with the cheque), they thought they would do some fundraising however as Murupara School is officially “closing” the Board of Trustees allocated each class funding to go on a class trip to wherever they wanted. These kids chose to give up their allocation and put toward sponsorship of a kiwi and wrote a letter to the school Board to ask for approval to do this. Cool huh!”

It’s totally cool – and an awesome example of how giving people a personal experience with conservation can make a real difference to the way they think and move them to action for a cause.

A North Island brown kiwi hatching.

A North Island brown kiwi hatching

The money donated by Room 12 will now go on stand-by ready to pay for a kiwi egg to be whisked away from Whirinaki and hatched if there’s any sign of it needing help. Once the egg is hatched and the chick is raised to a safe weight to return to the forest, the students will be asked to give it a name. After that it will be set free in Whirinaki -Te Pua o Tane – one little kiwi enjoying a bright future thanks to a bunch of other little kiwis who can see conservation as a path to a bright future of their own.

Well done to everyone involved.

In Kiwi, Native animals , , , , ,
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Kiwi: the real story book giveaway

Department of Conservation —  17/12/2012

UPDATE: The competition has now ended. 

Kiwi: the real story made it onto the Listener’s 50 Best Children’s Books of 2012 list, and it’s not hard to see why.  The combination of verse, factual text and beautifully luminous pictures, offers a spellbinding glimpse into the secret night-world of our amazing iconic kiwi bird.

Kiwi: the real story would be an amazing Christmas present for any lucky kiwi kid and, thanks to New Holland Publishers, we’ve got three copies to give away here on the Conservation Blog.

Kiwi: the real story

“Muckracker, stem-shaker
nosy parker, mud-larker, dashing darter
cricket-cruncher, mantis-muncher
eavesdropper, clodhopper, show-stopper!”

Kiwi the eavesdropper.

“These feisty birds have a life and spirit of their own and Kiwi: the real story will be the book to inspire your children to love and protect kiwi long into their lifetimes, ensuring that they will still be in the ‘backyards’ of our grandchildren in years to come.”

Kiwi the snail snatcher and beetle battler.

To be in to win a copy, leave a comment on this post before 12 noon, Thursday 20 December 2012, telling us why you want the book. Three winners will be selected at random and contacted by email.

The giveaway is open to everyone, except employees of the Department of Conservation, New Holland Publishers, and their immediate families; however, we can only ship to New Zealand addresses.

Good luck!

Kiwi: the real story is valued at $29.99 and will be available from good bookstores nationwide.

In Giveaways, Kiwi, Native animals , , , , , , ,
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Jobs at DOC: Kiwi looker afterer, Blair Hoult

Department of Conservation —  16/03/2012

Every Friday Jobs at DOC will take you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.

Today we profile Haast Tokoeka Kiwi Team Ranger, Blair Douglas Hoult.

Catching a female kiwi up in the alpine scrub with Tuss

At work…

Position: Kiwi looker afterer

What kind of things do you do in your role?

Track down the rare New Zealand womble, drive boats, walk up hills… then down hills… then turns out it was back up the hill… up hills.

What is the best part about your job?

That my job, a lot of the time, doesn’t seem like a job… and my dog Tussock.

What is the hardest part about your job?

Driving to the Sanctuary (Haast Tokoeka Kiwi Sanctuary) when the surf’s cranking.

What led you to your role in DOC?

A bunch of randomness. I used to Chef but I chopped my finger. Instead, found the job on the net… then the next thing I know—life rules.

What was your highlight from the month just gone?

The West Coast weather.

The mouth of the Moeraki—just a walk from my house

The rule of three…

Three loves

  1. Haast
  2. Tussock the dog
  3. Flying

    My dog Tussock in the Haast Sanctuary

Three pet peeves

  1. Frozen boots
  2. Burnt toast
  3. Wet wetsuits

Three foods 

  1. Baked beans (way better than spaghetti) 
  2. A mean Sunday roast
  3. Lamb chops

Three favourite places in New Zealand

  1. Whakapohai
  2. Hot Water Beach
  3. Ohinimaka

The beautiful Haast Sanctuary—my office

Favourite movie, album, book

  1. Movie: Forrest Gump
  2. Album: Van Morrison’s Been good lately
  3. Book: Francis Chichester’s book—a good read about an amazing navigator

Deep and meaningful…

What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?

To be fast, first you must be slow because slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

After I'd restored Dad's microlight to its former glory

Who or what inspires you and why?

My friends because they are all different but are Oarsome and do freakin’ good things. Oh and this old couple I used to work for—they have been married for 50 years and are like a couple of teenagers!

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I dunno, I changed my mind all the time… maybe a pilot/All Black kinda kid… I always liked the Animal connection, they smell good.

And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?

Hmmm ummm I reckon Dr Martin’s pretty cool.

What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?

Save DOC some money and camp when you go away… DOC has amazing camp grounds.

Which green behaviour would you like to adopt this year—at home? At work?

To make do with what I have. Fixed things are better than new things because then they are classic and classic is class.

If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?

A kākāpō! Turn up the boom bass!

What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?

Be proud of DOC… we are world leaders.

In Jobs at DOC, Kiwi, Native animals , , , ,
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