Nga Manu Nature Reserve

Male North Island brown Kiwi
with eggs

Successful hatching of North Island brown Kiwi chick

We have a pair of North Island Brown Kiwi in the nocturnal house at
Nga Manu Nature Reserve

Images courtesy of Nga Manu Images: www.ngamanuimages.org.nz (click here)

Philipp Family Foundation Conservation Centre Opens

Enhancing the Education Experience

The transformation of an old school prefab into a dedicated education centre is complete. The opening celebration held on Saturday 29 October was attended by around 160 guests.

A Little Background Information

The funds to purchase the building, bring it on site and provide initial drawings were provided by the Ferndale Trust. Nga Manu Trustees then put out a call for assistance and an article in the local paper prompted The Philipp Family Foundation (P.F.F) to approach the Trustees to discuss sponsorship for the refurbishment of the building. The P.F.F felt that the vision for the centre had a good fit with their philosophy and values with a focus on environmental and human wellbeing.

The aim was to employ a builder to manage the project and have it ready for the summer season. The sponsorship allowed the Trustees to do this – mission accomplished. Staff and volunteers have worked to upgrade the surrounding area, added the final touches to the building thus bringing to fruition a dream long held by Peter McKenzie.

The Celebration

The afternoon began with the blessing of the building by local kaumatua, Tuki Takiwa. Nga Manu Trust Chairperson, Tony Ward, welcomed the guests and thanked all involved for their work in getting the centre opened.

Robin Philipp spoke on behalf of the Philipp Family Foundation and especially remembered his father's saying "everything in life is connected". This new centre will provide an opportunity for children to use their imagination, creativity and spontaneity to come into contact with, and learn about, the natural world. Looking into the future he suggested that we might all explore what truly enriches our lives and to think about whether we have our values right.

Dr Mike Joy, freshwater ecologist, Massey University was introduced. Mike wondered if alongside being honoured as the best in the world for rugby, people were aware that we are also honoured as being the country that has officially more threatened species proportionally than any other country in the world. This process has been going on for 100 years but has accelerated in the last 20 years. We have 35% of threatened species, 90% of our wetlands lost, 43% of our lakes and 90% of the 3,000 lowland streams studied are polluted. The threatened long thin eels are commercially fished and 4 out of 5 whitebait species are threatened. A challenging presentation.

The sun shone and guests enjoyed afternoon tea accompanied by soft background music. To round off the celebrations a barbeque was held and the evening warm enough for people to sit outside and enjoy the surroundings.

The Future

The Centre, located adjacent to the parking area, is easily accessible especially for large groups. Until now these groups have been seated in a small area off the Information Centre. The dedicated centre frees that area up for general visitors to Nga Manu and means that staff will be able to consistently provide quality education programmes to schools and the general public no matter what the outside conditions. Large doors open the front of the building directly on to the deck area and connect the centre to the natural assets of the reserve. All the displays, education resources, screens and much more will now be located in the building making them easily accessible to staff and other educators.

The Centre will enhance the conservation education focus of Nga Manu and is also able to be hired out for functions which sit within the philosophy of the Trust.

What a transformation – well done to all the contractors, staff, volunteers and Philipp Family Foundation.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PHOTOS FROM THE OPENING

Tax Deductable

To further enhance the new conservation education centre we need to purchase some furnishings.

We ask for your support, if you can donate funds, goods or services we would be pleased to hear from you. Remember that all donations are tax refundable Items we wish to purchase:

Chairs – 120 Chairs are required – cost approx. $50.00 per chair – can be sponsored on a per chair basis or quantity to suit sponsor.
Public Address system – approx. $1,800.00
Projection – multimedia equipment - $1,800.00
Sun filter curtains and drapes $5,000.00
Bench seat/wall carpet tiles $1,200.00
Kitchen equipment (microwave, urn, etc. $600.00
Misc. $500.00
Tables (foldaway) $650.00

Please contact Bruce at Nga Manu on 04 293 4131, or click here to email me.

Introducting Two New Trustees

Tony Ward

Tony has picked up the role as Chairperson of the Trust. Originally from Napier, he has been involved in industrial relations and training and personnel management work. Tony has lived in Wellington for over 20 years and, in 2009 and after 24 years, retired from the Employers Association (later the Employers and Manufacturers Association. In 1996 Tony and Lorna moved to a 3 acre property in Kotare Street, Waikanae.

His early years on a farm gave Tony a love of native trees and bird life and subsequent involvement in conservation projects. Whilst living in Wellington Tony was involved in the establishment of the Karori Wild Life Sanctuary ( Zealandia) and a foundation member of that organisation.

He is the current chairman of the Kapiti – Mana branch of Forest and Bird and actively involved in conservation work at Kaitawa Reserve in Paraparaumu. Tony and Lorna have planted out their property in native trees and some exotics selected to sustain native birdlife. Visiting tuis, bell birds and kereru are the reward. As well as 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren Tony’s other interests include vintage cars and their restoration.

Peter Kettle

Peter Kettle is a biologist who studied at the University of Canterbury and King's College, University of London. He has worked as a research scientist, science manager, international treaty negotiator, policy adviser to ministers and general manager of a charitable trust.

Peter is particularly interested in birds, insects, fungi, ferns and fish. During most of his working career he worked for Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in its various forms. Peter lives with his wife Joanne at Waikanae Beach.

Retired Trustee

Dr John Dawson has retired as a trustee of Nga Manu Trust after completing over 15 years on the Trustee. Dr John Dawson retired from his role as Associate Professor of Botany Department at Victoria University and since "retirement" John has never slowed down. As a retiree John has been actively involved in:

Publishing many books on New Zealand native flora and fauna
Managing overseas and local botanic surveys and projects
Assistted both Otari – Wilton Bush and Nga Manu Nature Reserve with Trust matters and botanic guidance
Run numerous plant courses and field trips
Become a grandad
And rest assured he has helped out with 101 other projects to numerous too mention.

John, from all of us at Nga Manu we thank you all for your support and look forward to catching up with you throughout the year.

John, along with Rob Lucas have just recently published an excellent book on New Zealand Native Trees, details below. I would highly recommend this book.

New Zealand Native Trees Book Release

New Zealand is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, and our unique native forests are a major reason for this status. Not only do they look, smell and feel like no other forest on earth, the majority of plants occur nowhere else. This remarkable fact, along with ancient botanical connections to other places and the extraordinary adaptations of our plants over millions of years of isolation, add up to something that is of huge significance globally.

New Zealand's Native Trees celebrates the uniqueness and incredible diversity of our trees and forests. A landmark book, of the kind that is published only once in a generation, it is a wonderful contribution to the documentation and understanding of the richness and diversity of New Zealand's natural environment.

More than 320 species, subspecies and varieties, in 85 genera and 51 families
2300 photographs, from close details to landscapes
Detailed introductions to conifers, flowering trees and tree ferns
An informative overview of New Zealand's forests and trees
54 boxed features on interesting aspects of native trees

Valuable as an identification guide, a reference, a resource for landscapers and gardeners, and an inspiration for a new generation of New Zealanders, this is an essential book for every home, school and library.

Kiwi Egg Candling Workshop – Report From Rhys Mills

On the 13th - 14th October I was able to attend a Kiwi Egg Candling workshop in Rotorua run by BNZ save the Kiwi and the National Kiwi Trust.

Candling is to hold a powerful light source against the outside of an egg to determine what is happening on the inside. As the Nga Manu team is once again becoming more active in Kiwi breeding after an absence, this workshop was invaluable as an opportunity to refresh and learn new skills with regards to Kiwi eggs. A member of the Rattite family (Moa, Emu, Ostrich), Kiwi don’t always do things by the book. Incubation is at a lower temperature than most birds and may take 65-79 days. In North Island birds this is done by the male alone.

Human understanding of egg candling is limited as you mainly see shadows within the egg. Interpreting what these shadows mean is the basis of the course content.

As captive breeders, knowing what eggs are viable and what are not can have a huge influence on the success of any breeding year. A very valuable course indeed.


	FEATURES IN THIS NEWSLETTER Philipp Family Foundation Conservation Centre Opens \| Introducting Two New Trustees Retired Trustee \| New Zealand Native Trees Book Release Worm of Wisdom: North Island Brown Kiwi \| Fantails Quilt \| Kevin the Kiwi Kiwi Egg Candling Workshop \| Takahe Enclosure Christmas @ Nga Manu \| Annual Public Meeting (Click on a link above to view the article)