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K e a C o n s e r vaT i o n T r u s T: proJeCTs 2012/2013
The 2012/2013 year was highly successful with a number of new and on-going research and advocacy projects delivered during the year. A fifth year of nest monitoring was carried out at Nelson Lakes, a fourth year in the Hawdon Valley, and a second year in Kiwi Saddle and Borland Valley, while the January 2013 Summer Survey took place at Kiwi saddle for the second year. A highly successful Winter Advocacy Tour saw a record number of people attend a record number of talks throughout July around the South Island, while production of the Kids for Kea Conservation DVD and on-going development of education webpages and material for schools and ski fields continued throughout the year. Thanks to all our sponsors and in-kind supporters who enabled these important projects to go ahead. We look forward to working with you in 2013/2014.
Winter Advocacy Tour
Tamsin Orr-Walker, Kea Conservation Trust Funded by Federated Mountain Clubs NZ Supported by Unitec Institute of Technology
The winter advocacy tour was originally developed in 2008 as a method to connect with key stakeholders throughout the South Island, a week or so prior to an annual community kea survey. As public interest in kea increased, seminars on kea (their status, current research and threats facing the species), as well as community discussions and meetings, were gradually introduced into the winter tour. These discussions have enabled the KCT to better understand the unique relationship between kea and the human communities with which they cohabit and have helped direct conservation projects and research questions over the years. The number of talks delivered during the annual tour has continued to rise steadily over the years. In 2009, the first year of talks, 27 people attended 2 public talks. This increased to 125 people at 7 talks in 2010 and 270 people attending 13 talks in 2011. In 2012, the fourth year, 790 people attended 21 talks over the 10 days. This mammoth task was undertaken by Dr Lorne Roberts (KCT and Unitec Institute of Technology) and Tamsin Orr-Walker (KCT Chair) over 14 separate South Island locations between 26 June – 6 July 2012. In addition, 8 stakeholder meetings and 5 media interviews were also conducted. This year, half of the talks were delivered to school children in an effort to raise awareness of the education resources freely available for school groups
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Photo: Dr Lorne Roberts
Photo: Corey Mosen