News

Former Penguin Ranger, Reuben Lane, is new Penguin Trust Chair, taking over from Kerry_Jayne Wilson, who stepped down after 13 years in the role.
Reuben, West Coast Penguin Trust Ranger for several years until 2016, was elected as Chair last week at the Trust’s AGM.

Reuben Lane, West Coast Penguin Trust Ranger for several years until 2016, was elected as Chair last week at the Trust’s AGM. Despite relinquishing his role as Ranger, he maintained a close relationship with the Trust, attending meetings when he could and providing support and advice over the intervening years. He was then elected as Trustee in January and volunteered his services as Chair, taking over the reins from Kerry-Jayne Wilson. Mr Lane said: “After 13 years at the helm, leading the Trust in both governance and science, Kerry-Jayne gave two years’ notice that she wanted to let someone else take over. She has kept the Trust on a successful path based on scientific evidence for guidance and decision-making and has contributed many thousands of hours to further conservation of penguins and other endangered seabirds here on the Coast. “We are indebted to Kerry-Jayne and I wanted to ensure that she can put time into her next book project by freeing her up from some of the time-consuming duties that come with the Chair role. We’re pleased and relieved that Kerry-Jayne will remain as Trustee and science advisor to the Trust. “I’m looking forward to taking the Trust forward and leading our hugely committed and capable team as we build on the strengths that Kerry-Jayne has developed over the years.” With the penguin breeding season getting underway in recent weeks, the Trust is preparing for some key projects including monitoring Fiordland crested penguins or tawaki in South Westland to better understand the impact of big seed or mast events and tracking blue penguins to learn more about their marine ecology. Master’s student, Luisa von Salis Soglio, will be joining the Trust in September to help with blue penguin monitoring and she will be collating all the blue penguin data the Trust has gathered since it began work in the Charleston area. Mr Lane added: “For several years, I monitored blue penguins in the Charleston and wider Buller area, and we learned that stoat predation was not an issue for these birds but also that colony numbers continued to decline due to deaths on coast roads and due to dog attacks. “Long term data is hugely valuable in any type of scientific study and we’re very fortunate to have Luisa helping us make the most of it. She will gather all our data together and analyse it over the next few months and her findings will help guide us in future practical actions to protect these ‘at risk’ penguins. “In the meantime, we can never say this often enough, when living close to or visiting any coast beach, please keep your dogs on a lead or under very close control when out at the beach, and safe and secure when at home so they cannot roam.”

 

Trust Tawaki Coalition partner, Dr Thomas Mattern/The Tawaki Project, has just released his report following five years of field work studying the Fiordland crested penguin or tawaki.

Trust Tawaki Coalition partner, Dr Thomas Mattern/The Tawaki Project, has just released his report following five years of field work studying the Fiordland crested penguin or tawaki across their range, from Jackson Head in South Westland, via Harrison Cove in Milford Sound to Codfish Island/Whenua Hou. Since 2014, Dr Mattern and his team have been studying the foraging behaviour, reproductive success and population developments of tawaki, adding significantly to the minimal knowledge of this species. For example, the deployment of GPS dive loggers to record the penguins’ at-sea movements painted a clear picture of a species with versatile foraging strategy allowing it to successfully breed in open ocean environments, as well as enclosed fjord systems and shallow coastal habitat to the South of New Zealand’s South Island. Penguins breeding deep within fjords appear to benefit from an ecosystem that seems to be unaffected by large-scale environmental perturbations such as El Niño. The short foraging ranges of tawaki from Whenua Hou suggest similar mechanisms. However, penguins from the West Coast seem to suffer from such occurrences where increased foraging effort goes along with reduced reproductive success (see the 2015 report when breeding failed almost entirely at a monitored South Westland colony). This is surprising given that current population estimates put the exposed West Coast as core breeding area of the species. However, nest surveys conducted during the Tawaki Project and by WCPT Tawaki Ranger, Robin Long, indicate that penguin numbers especially in Fiordland may represent underestimations. Read the full report here.  

At an investiture ceremony at Government House, Trust Chair, Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, received her medal from the Governor General.

Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, officially!

At an investiture ceremony in Wellington last week, Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy presented Trust Chair, Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, with her medal, officially making her a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to seabird conservation. Congratulations Kerry-Jayne!  Richly deserved! Read more here.  

Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM and Dr Thomas Mattern completed a comprehensive review of the state of NZ penguins during 2018 and it has been released today, (10th April 2019).

Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM and Dr Thomas Mattern have completed a comprehensive review of the state of NZ penguins and it has been released today. "This is a review of all that we know, and don't know about all six NZ penguins, with a list of research and conservation management priorities for each species" said Kerry-Jayne. Based on this review, Dr Mattern is leading a group of experts to work towards research and  conservation goals outlined in the report under the banner "NZ Penguin Research & Conservation". For a start, they will be focusing efforts on Little or Blue penguins/kororā and Fiordland penguins/tawaki. Their goal is to work with community groups to establish a unified monitoring approach throughout NZ. Dr Mattern explained: "We plan to develop a centralised database that is scalable to the level of monitoring the various community groups want to commit to. Apart from developing this database, we also plan to engage with community groups to train and assist them with their activities. We envisage that each group ultimately will be able to work autonomously towards a common monitoring strategy." "In the medium-term we are also thinking about establishing community-based monitoring of Little penguin foraging behaviour. However, at this stage we only plan to trial the viability of this idea on the West Coast, working with the West Coast Penguin Trust." The State of NZ Penguins has been presented in website form: https://sop.penguinarchive.org/  Click here for a pdf of the "The State of NZ Penguins".  

The West Coast Penguin Trust is delighted and hugely proud to share the news that our Chair and Scientist, Kerry-Jayne Wilson, has been awarded MNZM – Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit – in the New Year’s Honours for services to seabird conservation.

The West Coast Penguin Trust is delighted and hugely proud to share the news that our Chair and Scientist, Kerry-Jayne Wilson, has been awarded MNZM – Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit – in the New Year’s Honours for services to seabird conservation. “No one achieves anything alone – seabird work is a very collegial environment. I work with the West Coast Penguin Trust, the Australasian Seabird Group and many other colleagues” she said. Kerry-Jayne says it’s important to focus on the seabirds rather than the honour. “Seabirds are in trouble: plastic and climate change are making things worse for them every day; they need all the help they can get.” Seabird work is also a world without borders. “On a given day, I might work locally, just down the road, then on national seabird issues, and also working with colleagues around the world as our seabirds travel outside NZ jurisdiction, even to the other side of the world.” The collegiality of this work is essential. “People working in this field are interesting, likeable, friendly and helpful and they all work at the local, national and international level. I am privileged and very fortunate to work with such a great group of people and I love the variation that comes with it. Our shared work is critical and will continue.” Read the citation here. The Minister for Climate Change congratulated recipients in the 2019 New Year’s Honours whose work is helping Aotearoa New Zealand understand and address climate change.  James Shaw said: “I also offer my congratulations to internationally recognised conservationist, Kerry-Jayne Wilson, for her honour as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to seabird conservation. “Kerry-Jayne’s more than 40 years of study, teaching and voluntary work, which has included working with seabird scientists in Antarctica, Europe and Australia, has helped advance research and understanding of threats such as climate change. [Top image shows Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Falkland islands Dec 2018, with king penguins and chick.]

Numbers were much greater than expected and the whole event was a huge success.

The West Coast Penguin Trust presented the "Community Conservation Symposium - How, what and why for conservation on the West Coast" on 14-15 June 2018. With 119 participants for the conference day and 65 joining field trips on day two, numbers were much greater than expected and the whole event was a huge success. Our aim was to support community conservation groups and projects in the region by bringing expert speakers to them and facilitating networking with each other and with potential advisors and partners.  This was achieved through a very professional and well received event, enabled by a $10k grant from the Lottery Environment & Heritage Fund, plus generous grants, donations and support from DOC and the Sargood Bequest. The first day was a conference with a variety of experienced speakers and held at the Shantytown conference venue near Greymouth; the second day comprised three field trips to a variety of community conservation projects.  Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. 26 community conservation organisations and three schools were represented as well as over 20 individuals interested in community conservation, plus a variety of other organisations including biodiversity and community rangers from the Department of Conservation and key members of Te Runanga o Ngati Waewae.  DOC also provided key note speakers and Ngati Waewae graced the event with a formal welcome and farewell.  In addition, we were fortunate to have excellent speakers from Forest & Bird, Landcare Research, Lincoln University, the local Department of Internal Affairs office and local community conservation organisations.  The field trips were led and hosted by several community groups. Although it was targeted at the community on the West Coast, we were pleased to welcome several participants from as far afield as Dunedin and Hawkes Bay.  Our own Trust was fortunate to meet a post graduate student interested in our work and has been able to develop a Masters project for her in 2019, benefiting both the student and our blue penguin conservation project.  Our Education Ranger was able to strengthen or create relationships with the three schools that were represented and we have heard similar stories from other groups. We believe the profile of community conservation in the region has been raised as a result of the symposium.  The extent of community conservation in the region is broader and deeper than perhaps had been realised until connected through this event.  Several groups funded a couple of their members to attend and they will have returned to their groups with new knowledge and new contacts.  Information was provided by experts and those with vast experience in conservation and was pitched to be of value no matter the individual's level of knowledge or experience. The symposium had two areas of focus - ecology and community conservation management. Both areas were of value to those present, the first covering an overview of ecology on the coast and, through each speaker, developing an understanding of the values, the issues, and practical conservation management including predator control and restoration. Management of trusts was included to support those working and volunteering in community conservation trusts, for example fundraising, governance and managing volunteers, but just as importantly, to demonstrate the range of issues and challenges that have to be addressed by groups like ours to organisations like DOC, who can be unaware of the extent of varied demands on charitable trusts. The two high schools that brought students and a primary school teacher were inspired by the event, valuing the knowledge gained and an insight into conservation in the region. Predator control is a major focus in New Zealand at present, and DOC valued and made the most of the opportunity to share updates, plans and practical skills with the participants while those already involved in trapping projects or keen to be, valued the opportunity to ask questions, connect to experts and experience the various traps available. Our reason for presenting this event was to support those involved or potentially involved in community conservation in our region to gain a greater understanding of the natural heritage and environment and therefore how their area or project fits into the wider picture.  They also learned about the threats and how they can be addressed including practical skills, they gained knowledge and skills in those areas of community trust work behind the scenes and rarely supported including governance, fundraising, volunteer management and financial reporting.  In addition, networking opportunities were emphasised, encouraged and supported - and taken and valued.  The field trips added an understanding of local projects and enabled more discussion and networking among participants, with many useful contacts being made and developed. As a result, we are confident that conservation outcomes will be improved, threats will be better managed, habitat will be restored and protected and community conservation groups will be stronger and better managed. We conducted a survey of participants after the event and 41 responded.  We were supported in this by Malatest International, who aim to survey conference attendees to assess the economic value to New Zealand.  We were pleased to note that local participants spent on average $164 per person, and those from beyond the west coast spent an average of $493 per person. However, our focus of the survey was to find out whether the event had been of use and the feedback was hugely reassuring in this regard Symposium dinner at Shantytown June 2018. For values including speakers, value for money, the knowledge or skills gained, the networking opportunity and the event overall, average ratings were between 4.2 and 4.7, where 1 is very poor and 5 is very good. Here are some of the comments in response to 'what did you like most about the conference?': "Networking opportunities. Meeting the other guest speakers and gleaning knowledge from their presentations", "Learning about the ecology of west coast and about pest control", "great speakers, well prepared, good visuals, easy to hear, great messages", "everybody getting an educated view on where community conservation fits into the bigger picture", "Learning & being with like minded people", "Was a great symposium, particularly the field trips to see local conservation groups in action," "The symposium was unique in bringing experts in conservation from afar to less than 100km from my home, so it was a unique opportunity", "Well organised & informative symposium. Very happy I attended", "A well organized, balanced and professional event with good speakers and field trips (Great turnout!)", "Excellent symposium for networking. Informative for new groups", "Excellent assortment of speakers", "The inspiration factor that plenty of people are dedicated to conservation and whole communities are involved". The Trust would like to repeat its gratitude to funders: Lottery, DOC and Sargood Bequest, say a huge and heartfelt thank you to the wonderful speakers and field trip leaders who put so much time into preparation and being there, add an enormous thank you to those who attended, taking time to support both our event and their own interest and involvement in community conservation and last but of course not least, a massive thank you to the team of volunteers who made the event a success on the day. 2018-06-11 Community Conservation Symposium 14-15 June 2018 Programme

The Great Annual Blue Penguin Count, 10-15 October this year, is fun, hugely useful and a great way to get involved!

The Great Annual Blue Penguin Count, 10-15 October this year, is fun, hugely useful and a great way to get involved! What could be better than an early morning walk on the beach on a glorious West Coast day!  Combine that with discovering whether penguins are using your beach and adding valuable information for the Trust and you're onto a winner! We are encouraging the use of the iNaturalist app, as it's easy, fun and it makes life a whole lot easier for us! Once you've created a logon and got the hang of it, it really is easy.  I have to admit it took me a little while, and we learned how to make it easier after the Annual Count last year, so we've ironed out some challenges and we'd love you to take part! All the information you need to get involved is on our webpage here: http://www.bluepenguin.org.nz/blue-penguin-count/ We plan to be out on the beach close to Hokitika and you'd be welcome to join us - more details to follow soon.

We are celebrating with The Tawaki Project the release of a research paper reporting the marathon swims made by Fiordland crested penguins (tawaki) after raising chicks and before returning to moult.

The tawaki is one of the least studied and rarest penguin species in the world.  17 tawaki were tracked over 8-10 weeks and they travelled up to 2,500km from their breeding colony, some travelling up to 7000 km in total.  This is an extraordinary feat bearing in mind that penguins generally use this time to recover and put on weight after rearing chicks and before the moult, when they can lose up to half of their body weight.   The project is led by Dr Thomas Mattern, and our own Trustee and Tawaki Ranger, Robin Long, was part of his team and a co-author on the paper.

Dr Mattern said: “One would think that the birds try to conserve as much energy on this trip as possible. But what we found is, simply put, crazy.”

Study co-author Dr Klemens Pütz, of the Antarctic Research Trust, said it was an incredible achievement for a flightless seabird. “The question is why the penguins leave on such an epic journey, at a time when the ocean productivity along their coastal breeding sites reaches its peak. There should be more than enough food for them just on their doorstep,” Dr Pütz said. The authors believe tawaki make their trek because of instinct rather than necessity. You can read more here:

• Summary on RadioNZ website
• Research article published on PLS One
• The Tawaki Project summary with illustrations by Giselle Clarkson

West Coast Penguin Trust Ranger, Lucy Waller, makes the case for penguins, loving them, conserving them and presenting them to children as a gateway to more conservation conversations.

West Coast Penguin Trust Ranger, Lucy Waller, makes the case for penguins, loving them, conserving them and presenting them to children as a gateway to more conservation conversations. Lucy explains that kids love penguins - penguins are the perfect advocate to present an environmental/conservation message to all ages.  From one child, to a class of children, a school and from there to parents and their community, whole community shifts can happen and with that genuine environmental change.  The local connection to nature makes conservation real and actions to make a difference more manageable. Over the past year or so, Lucy has worked with St Patrick's School in Greymouth as they have followed the Trust's education resource, learned about local penguins and started taking actions to help them. Read Lucy's article for a UK environmental education journal here: Environmental Education journal article May 2018

Here's our Annual Report to update supporters and sponsors about all the work we do, from penguins to petrels and trapping to tamariki.

The Trust produces an Annual Report to update supporters and sponsors about all the work we do.  From penguins to petrels and trapping to tamariki, in the year to 31st March 2018 we have been busy! Our projects include studies to better understand the ecology of and threats to blue penguins, Fiordland crested penguins and Westland petrels, and we undertake predator control for seabirds.  We also have a wide ranging awareness and outreach project, including some excellent education work with an increasing number of schools. Read our annual report here: West Coast Penguin Trust - Annual Report 2018