This year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours recipients included four penguin heroes/heroines.
Lala Frazer from Otago Peninsula was recognised for her many contributions to conservation on Otago Peninsula. Lala has been involved with the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust since it was founded, and a trustee since the Trust was formed over 30 years ago, including a stint as Chair. She has been actively involved with almost all conservation initiatives on the Peninsula.
Mrs Frazer receives her QSM for services to conservation and the community and was also named Wildlife Hero of the Dunedin Wildlife Festival in 2020.
Read the citation here, and ODT coverage here, in which Mrs Frazer comments that she has been privileged to be involved in conservation for over 40 years and the honour is in recognition of all the work of volunteers involved in protecting and enhancing habitat on the Otago Peninsula.
Lala Frazer
Shireen and Francis Helps of Pohatu Penguins at Flea Bay on Banks Peninsula have perhaps done more to protect little penguins than any other individuals. Their efforts to protect the penguins on their farm have been extraordinary and they now host perhaps the largest mainland colony of little penguins in New Zealand. They were instrumental in having the Pohatu marine reserve gazetted and they have done a lot to promote penguin conservation elsewhere on Banks Peninsula.
The couple have both become members of the New Zealand Order of Merit for all the work they have done to protect penguins and enhance biodiversity on the Banks Peninsula.
Read the citation here and coverage in The Press here. Shireen and Francis said that it was nice recognition of what they had done over 40 years but also noted that it held meaning for the next generation, encouraging them to continue the work to protect penguins.
Shireen and Francis Helps
Hoani Langsbury, who, among his many roles – including Manager of Operations at the Royal Albatross Centre, Taiaroa Head, and Trustee of the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust – has played a major role in establishing the highly successful little penguin viewing at Pilots Beach – Blue Penguins Pukekura. Penguins are thriving there and numbers continue to grow.
Mr Langsbury becomes a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to conservation.
Read the citation here and coverage in the ODT here. He said “”I wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t passionate about it.”
Hoani Langsbury
While materials were chosen that would stand up to the harsh coastal conditions, those same coastal conditions are conducive to plant growth! Occasional checks of the fences have been carried out by volunteers and rangers so that any maintenance needs can be identified and remedied. The never-ending need for maintenance is managing the vegetation that can grow through the fence, for example gorse, blackberry and hydrangea, pushing it to breaking point in places, or flop over causing damage from the weight of rank grass, rushes and weeds such as montbretia.
Volunteers recently spent a few hours tidying up the main fence along Woodpecker Bay north of Punakaiki so a big shout out to them - thank you Fiona, Jony, Reef, Katrina, Mandy, Marty, Teresa and Deb! Flax had been pressing down on the fence, but now the fence has been freed up by these wonderful volunteers - and they picked up a fair bit of rubbish too.
Volunteer Natassja Savidge has offered to check and help maintain the Hokitika penguin protection fence and joined Ranger Lucy Waller and Manager Inger Perkins in May to inspect the length of the fence. Some minor issues were found but the main finding was the extent of the vegetation growth that was damaging the fence in places. Big thanks to Natassja!
