Our newsletter for 2020 was published at the end of June. It’s available as a PDF here or if you would like a hard copy for your coffee table keep a look out as there are copies available in selected stores around the Heads. Below is a quick taste of some of the stories in this year’s conservation round up.
In his Message From the Chair, Greg Innes celebrates the third year in a row that The Trust more than met its environmental milestones for predator suppression and removal and highlights progress made on weed eradication. The Trust was recognised on the national level through an official visit by the Minister of Conservation Hon. Eugenie Sage, it strengthened and formalised its relationship with the Department of Conservation with a management agreement, it entered into a formal relationship with the Auckland University of Technology and it commenced predator removal operations in a buffer zone on adjoining private land in collaboration with the Northland Regional Council.
Generous support from our neighbour, Alphonse van Polenen Petel, the Department of Conservation, our sponsors and volunteers saw us come very close to the completion of our Community Conservation Facility just before the level 4 lockdown. We’ve gone from one container to three with a deck in between and an all-weather roof is almost on – thanks to Northport for the donation of the containers and Louisa Gritt, operations manager from our local Department of Conservation, for paying for the roof.
The Bream Head Conservation Trust Education programme works closely with schools to educate and engage young people in the conservation work being undertaken on the reserve. In 2019 nine primary and secondary schools engaged with our programme on 12 occasions, involving over 500 students. Often, during visits from schools, particular students stand out as having a high interest in the conservation mahi we do. Observing students engaging enthusiastically and learning about the significance of our conservation work is all the motivation we need to continue to expand education opportunities on the reserve. In 2019 our Environmental Education Award went to Kelsie Hackett, a Northtec environmental science student who finished her degree in 2019. She volunteered with BHCT for 2 years in predator control work. She also assisted in research projects such as the placostylus surveys and the bellbird/pateke surveys by Northtec in our area.
For full details on these and other local conservation stories read the 2020 Bream Head Conservation Trust Newsletter in full.