Community Involvement
Cheryl Parker, Summer 2000 - University of New Hampshire
Making a Difference
One of the great aspects of EcoQuest is that several of the field exercises
(and all Directed Research Projects) contribute to existing research and
local initiatives. Being able to offer highly relevant learning
opportunities to our students is a privilege and we place great value on
this. We believe it is important to give something back to the places and
people that welcome us. Following are some examples of where and how
EcoQuest's involvement has made a difference:
Locally, EcoQuest contributes to research at the Ramsar site by carrying
out regular sample surveys of the benthic fauna. This work helps build a
knowledge base of food supplies for waders. When the opportunity arises,
students get involved with the local school in activities, games, and
projects.
On Tiritiri Matangi Island, work in the nursery helps toward the revegetation projects, and bird censuses assist the rangers with documenting populations of heavily managed bird species. On Ponui Island, staff and students have taken part in kiwi call surveys [the data is submitted to the Department of Conservation(DoC)]. To assist with habitat restoration, students have been involved with tree planting. EcoQuest staff and volunteers have been back to the island to carry out weed control.
In the Hunua Ranges, EcoQuest students have assisted with predator tracking for the kokako project (providing an index of predator activity) in a joint project between the Auckland Regional Council and DoC. At Warrenheip, a private restoration initiative, students regularly help with tree planting, tracking of predators, and species surveys (weta, kiwi and more recently teal).
Assist with revegetation efforts...
EcoQuest students have helped with revegetation programmes and initiatives in a variety of locations in New Zealand. At Mangawhai, students have contributed to a community revegetation project by planting native dune grasses as part of learning about prevention and manipulation of coastal processes. Tree planting on Ponui Island and working in the nursery at Tiritiri Matangi help both private and Department of Conservation efforts to restore habitats for native birds. Planting in Warrenheip Reserve is an integral part of an intensive restoration project.
EcoQuest students assisted with the spreading of mistletoe seeds in beech forests adjacent to the Wilderness Lodge Arthur's Pass in the South Island in 2002. Involvement with community groups and schools allowed EcoQuest students to plant trees with the residents of Opoutere and with the children from the local Kaiaua Primary School.
The Tane Tree Trust is a foundation whose vision it is "To see the majority of New Zealand landowners successfully planting and sustainably managing indigenous trees for multiple uses by 2020". The Trust was launched in September 2001 at Waharau Park. EcoQuest students and staff attended the launch. Students played an active role in organising logistics for the day and took notes during the workshops. Students summarised the workshop findings and submitted these summaries for editing and publication in the proceedings of the launch.
Provide baseline information for...
For the past four years, students have carried out bird and insect surveys at Mokoia Island (Lake Rotorua). While hihi (stitchbirds) were on the island, they required intensive management and monitoring. EcoQuest contributed to these management efforts by assisting with censuses of hihi at feeders and nest boxes. In addition, students helped with the regular changing of supplementary foods for the hihi and the cleaning of nest boxes. Identification of banded birds and documentation of breeding success were part of these exercises. Prior to the Department of Conservation's efforts to eradicate mice on the island, EcoQuest students and staff caught and banded weka (flightless rails) to facilitate monitoring of the population. Weka call surveys were carried out on several occasions (pre- and post mouse eradication operations) to help estimate numbers of weka on the island. On Tiritiri Matangi, students have helped the rangers with bird surveys (hihi and bellbirds) and with monitoring of bait stations for presence / absence of predators. Closer to home, in the Hunua ranges, predator tracking helps collect data for the kokako recovery programme.
Work with local marine farmers...
Most of the contributions that EcoQuest students make here are through Directed Research Projects. Outside this, students have worked on the collection of data on spat settlement on long-line mussel farms.
Studies at the Firth of Thames Ramsar Site...
EcoQuest students gather baseline information on composition of the benthic communities in the intertidal mudflats of the Miranda Ramsar Site. Several students carried out pilot surveys to establish appropriate methods of collecting and processing samples as part of their Directed Research Projects. Currently, students sample the site two or three times each year by way of field exercises. The data adds to our understanding of this area as summer feeding grounds for arctic migratory godwits, knots, turnstones, and many others species which fly Asia - Pacific paths from Alaska and Siberia south to New Zealand.
EcoQuest completed its report on the Firth of Thames Ramsar Site. This investigation was made possible by an Environmental Initiatives Grant from Environment Waikato (Waikato Regional Council). The report presents and reviews existing information about the southern Firth of Thames ecosystem and about the Ramsar Site in particular. Selected field investigations were carried out, and students contributed to a number of these. EcoQuest organised a one-day workshop to present the findings of the Ramsar project. Participants discussed findings and provided feedback. Students recorded the participants' feedback and collated the minutes of the workshop.
Assist Private Initiatives to Promote Local Environmental Protection...
At Warrenheip (in addition to the Directed Research Projects), students help fill the gaps in existing knowledge about seasonal differences in abundance, diversity and movements of various species ('common' weta, mahoenui giant weta, kiwi and pateke (brown teal). Students survey permanent vegetation plots on a regular basis and a database and herbarium of fern species from within the reserve is an ongoing project.
