News • Southland Ecological Restoration Network

New QEII Rep for Southland

In 1997 Gay Munro was fortunate to take over the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust Representative’s position from Roger Sutton. Roger had undertaken the task from the beginning of QEII in 1978. Now, on Gay’s retirement, the position is being taken up by Graeme Watson, a farmer from Roslyn Bush. Graeme is a keen fly fisherman and has a very real appreciation of natural heritage values and the huge part that protection of these forest, shrubland, tussock remnants play in maintaining the good water quality in our rivers and streams. With Roger’s son Mark, being responsible for QEII covenants in the Waiau catchment, Graeme takes on responsibility for the rest of Southland. If you have any enquiries about the QEII and covenants, then please contact Graeme at (03) 230 4843.

Posted on: Monday, 20 July 2009

Farmers leading Biodiversity Enhancement.

With the recent launch of a book of Biodiversity Case Studies, brought together by Janet Gregory, Landcare Trust and Biodiversity Southland Co-ordinator, there is a new resource for farmers to read about how they might protect biodiversity on their farms. Covering eight different examples the book outlines how farmers went about getting funding assistance to bring to fruition their goals of protecting areas that they saw as special. The book covers topics like fencing off forest remnants, undertaking pest control, reinstatement of wetlands. If you would like a copy of the book then please contact Janet Gregory, (03) 208 7883 or email [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]

Posted on: Monday, 20 July 2009

Guardian of Sherwood Forest Recognised

Environment Southland recognised the stirling effort by Pat Turnbull in her continued stewardship of the nationally significant matai forest remnant on her property with the Individual Award at this year’s ES Environment Awards. Since the death of her husband, Derek, in 2007, Pat’s continued enthusiasm for the BCF restoration work being undertaken at Sherwood Forest and her encouragement of many Southland groups to visit and become involved in that work was acknowledged by the ES judges.

Posted on: Saturday, 4 July 2009

Garston and Hedgehope Schools Lead the Way

Environment Southland judges for the School’s Section of this year’s Environment Awards were most impressed by the great effort of Garston School with the 1,500 hours put in to restoring the roadside bank beneath the school in natives. Garston shared first prize in the School’s Section with Hedgehope School, who have had a busy year working with the community in a Treemendous Makeover of a waste area of their school grounds, planting it out in natives. They have also become involved in restoration plantings at the Turnbull Sherwood Forest.

Posted on: Saturday, 4 July 2009

Kakapos Rock!

This Saturday, 26th May, Southlanders again have a chance to get up close with those very special birds, the kakapo. Celebrating a very successful breeding season, some of the kakapo chicks that have been hand reared in Invercargill for the last couple of months, will be on display at the Working Mans Club from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Congratulations must go to a very dedicated kakapo team that have managed to handraise 26 of the chicks. Another 7 chicks have been left with the mothers on Codfish Island, still requiring a lot of input from the kakapo team. The National Kakapo Team was started in 1995 when there was only 51 birds left, most of them being males. This year’s ‘boomer’ breeding season brings the population of kakapo to 124.

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 May 2009

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