Five Department of Conservation sanctuaries help ensure the survival of kiwi.
Rowi Project Blog
Untouched World – keeping rowi forever
Posted by savethekiwi
Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 10:32 am
The rowi team, along with the rest of DOC’s Franz Josef Office, has been busy over the last couple of weeks planning an exciting six-day schedule for the Untouched World programme for 19 teens from around the South Island who finally arrived on Saturday at Okarito. And what a day! Okarito really turned on the sunshine for our Powhiri where our friends from Makkawhio joined us to welcome the students to Okarito township and our beautiful kiwi zone!
After a cup of tea and some biscuits we got to have a bit of a chat with some really cool kids and I am excited about the opportunity to show them what the Rowi Project and BNZ Operation Nest Egg is all about, and to have some good discussions about sustainability and conservation.
The kids are lucky enough to be camping on the Okartio camping ground which is beachfront. Nice!
From what I could see, the kids were having a lot of fun already. Hopefully the weather holds out as we have a jam-packed week of rowi health-checks, rodent lines, little blue penguins, white herons and rowi egg lifts. Not to mention, some interesting guest speakers and presentations from the students on the last day.
The progamme is a partnership between Untouched World Charitable Trust, Ngai Tahu, BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust and the Department of Conservation.
We’ll keep you posted!
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Kiwi Sanctuaries
Five Department of Conservation sanctuaries help ensure the survival of kiwi.
Did You Know?
Most kiwi are strictly night-time birds. The main reason is food – when the sun goes down, underground insects move up closer to the soil’s surface. Southern tokoeka, on Stewart Island/Rakiura, are the exception.
As lead facilitator on this UWCT Rowi Project camp I want to send a really big thanks to the DOC team for making our week a really special one. You all worked tremendously well as a team to help us understand about why the rowi must be saved and how you are doing it. It is hard but rewarding work …. and in such a splendid place; Okarito is idyllic. I am sure none of us will forget this experience and will continue to rave about it for a VERY long time. I’m certainly much more aware of the wonderful work DOC does in partnership with the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust to save this species of kiwi and will do all I can to encourage others to donate to the project.
Kia kaha to you all,
Jocelyn
I am honoured to be one of the recipients of the Kiwi Forever Scholarship program. The Scholarship has meant so much to me because it gives me an idea of how important the value of conservation and education. I have learnt so much stuff through out the program about Kiwi birds,1080, hearing different people’s opinions and many more. It is an honour to work with such kind and generous people. Everyone’s kindness meant so much to me. To the D.O.C team, Staff, Facilitators, amazing students, BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust and Untouched World, you all have my sincerest thanks.
Your’s truly,
?Richelle
During this six day camp, myself and the other students who recieved scholarships all learnt so much. This experience really opened my eyes and I’m sure a lot of other peoples too, showing us what the DOC team really do, the hard yards they put in to saving the Rowi Kiwi everyday. Also creating awareness about the dangers the Rowi face, maybe to just a small group, but I hope all the students go back to school and continue to project and explain what a wonderful experience this camp was. I think what we have all taken away from this experience is something very rare and special, amazing knowledge from the DOC staff, inspiration about our own country and the values that the kiwi hold, and also phenomenal friendships, between students and staff, and the student group themselves. The way everyone felt comfortable enough to be themselves, whether it was crazy and loud, or quiet, everyone got along and cared about eachother, nobody wanted to leave.
This was definitely a life changing adventure, something I will never forget and take with me wherever I go, hoping I can project my new found knowledge with as much energy, inspiration and love as the DOC and UWCT staff did for us.
I would like to thank everyone who was involved with the organisation of this trip, the staff that came along, the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust, DOC staff who took us under their wing willingly and showed us the ropes of what it’s like to work passionately towards something you love, and lastly to the amazing kids I got to share this experience with. You guys are fabulous !
Thank you so much,
Georgia Bodle
Today (10th February 2010) Holly and I are priveleged enough to be meeting the Governor General for a discussion of the untouched world programme and how much we benefited from it.
We have already set our sights high for our school, Marian College and will be presenting our ideas on the 3rd March to better the education system by adding the sustaianability standard in NCEA level 2.
We throughly enjoyed the experience of Okarito, and would jump at the chance to participate in something like this again. We are extremely thankful that we were selected and that our school was included in this fantastic opportunity and we hope, still will be for future years.
The Okarito Trip was an experience that we truely appriciate and will make the most of.
Some of the highlights of our trip were
Rescuing our baby!!! Uwi the kiwi egg (we will be seeing him/her soon again)
Meeting all the new people who are as enthusiastic about the environment as we are and people in our community that we can work with to better New Zealand’s education system.
I think we had the best group of people becuase they were all dedicated and there for the same reason as us :)
Almost a year out from attending the Rowi Kiwi Forever UWCT week in Okarito, I’m still feeling awed by the generosity that was put into this camp by everyone involved, especially the DOC staff, Te Runanga o Makaawhio, Untouched World Charitable Trust, locals of Okarito, our teachers and mentors, and all the students : the positive learning environment, the openess, and the opportunities we were given through this scholarship were massive. Being shown peoples’ passion: this matters. The biodiversity of Aotearoa: this matters. The energy and inspiration to go back to our schools and communities and share our new knowledge and skills: this matters. The ongoing connections we now have, so we can call on each other to help: this matters.
Dedication, commitment, aroha. It feels great. My question is, how do we make it bigger. How do we get hundreds of young people pressuring their schools for opportunities like this one? How do we empower more people?
Next year I’m going to be part of the Regeneration Roadtrip (see website for details). I hope that we can get UWCT alumni along to be part of the events run by young people for a sustainable future, which will take place all over the country in 2011.
Mauri ora, thanks for being you!
R