Monday: November 13

It was the first day I would be volunteering with Conservation Volunteers New Zealand (CVNZ). I wasn’t sure what to expect for the day. Would I be removing invasive species, tree planting, or surveying bugs? These are all things I’m used to doing when volunteering back home with Great River Greening. It was going to be a surprise.

We were picked up by our team leader, David, at 8:30a. We headed out in the CVNZ van and pulled over at some random hill with lots of greenery (as is everywhere in New Zealand). We were to “release” newly planted trees.

Releasing is removing any plant (good or bad) near a newly planted tree so that the tree has room to grow and has priority over the nutrients in the soil. The removed plants are placed around the base of the tree trunk to prevent any new plants from sprouting and helps the tree to retain moisture. Neato!

After we released some trees, we headed to the nursery. The nursery is shared between a few groups, one being CVNZ.

David directed us to remove plants that were in small plastic pots and to replant them in larger pots. We were transplanting native New Zealand plants that are part of the 100,000 others to be planted this year, quite the initiative.

Tuesday: November 14

David picked us up at 8:15a. We drove back to the nursery where we would be helping one of the nursery partners.

Our goal for the day per the partner team lead, Jenny (great name), was to build a fence through a pond and continue through a designated parameter Jenny and Julie (other lead) set up for us. The pond is situated within a dog park so it’s used quite frequently by the dogs for drinking and playing. The dogs unintentionally disturb the water habitat which has led to a reduction of various water invertebrates that used to exist in the pond such as dragonflies (my personal fav). Below are before and after shots.

With the temporary fence set up, studies will start to be conducted to see if it helps to increase the bug population. If so, the Wellington City Council will be presented with the data so funds can be allocated to create a permanent fence (which will hopefully be mor aesthetically pleasing).

I love that they didn’t want to block off the entire area. As you saw, it’s a tiny pond. Gotta make sure we keep space for the dogs to be happy in!

Wednesday: November 15

Today was an awesome day. David picked us up at 8:00a and we headed towards Pigeon Bush which was an hour long drive away from the house. Once we arrived, we were greeted with beautiful scenery, two men named Collin and Jeff (that might be his name :/), and their two dogs.

The group was split into two groups. Some of us went with Jeff and his dog to set up traps for pests and the other group went with Collin and his dog to clear a trek. I went with Collin, his dog, and some others.

The trek had been untouched for three years so the existing trek had been taken over by trees and weeds. It was quite an adventure. It’s not that I felt unsafe, but you could definitely find yourself rolling down the mountain if not paying attention to your step.

After we got done cutting down the trek to make it more navigable, we headed back to the basecamp to have some tea and lunch. Before lunch, David took us on a short walk to find the others who were setting up the traps. We came across a pregnant stick bug (see photo below). The very top part of her body is her belly which holds her little ones.After lunch, I went with Ben and Lasse to set up the last mouse trap. I couldn’t help but feel a little sad for the future mouse that was to meet the trap, but Ben assured me that it was the right thing to do. Ya’ll know me though… I can’t even kill a mosquito. Look how happy Ben is by the trap. He may or may not have a heart (kidding of course).

Other pics from the day

That night, we were given a special evening tour of Zealandia which is an ecosanctuary for native birds. We have our perks as Conversation Volunteers- the tour is normally $70, we paid $15. Zealandia houses several endangered species (mostly birds, some eels, and weta bugs). It is even the home to several kiwi birds!

Zealandia has 555 acres of fenced off land which keeps unwanted animals out such as ferrets, cats, possums, etc. When New Zealand was discovered, there were only two types of mammals, the bat and dolphin. At the time, this meant that birds didn’t need to fly to escape predation which is why New Zealand has a few flightless birds such as the kiwi and the takahē (personal fav). The moa also existed, but is now sadly extinct. To avoid extinction, Zealandia offers native birds freedom and protection from nonnative threats.

The staff at Zealandia are extremely vigilant about keeping the park clear of pests. As soon as a ranger finds out that a pest has entered the sanctuary, ALL rangers stop what they are doing to find the pest. I just got goosebumps thinking about their dedication. The guide said one, just one, possum got into an area (outside of Zealandia) where it ate all the eggs of several flightless birds. I can’t remember the number but it was a devastating amount amount of eggs it ate. Zelandia knows the repercussions of just one threat which is why they are so vigilant in pest control.

Unfortunately I couldn’t take any photos due to my camera sound (it continues to make the shutter sound on silent), but if you want to see some flightless birds, google kiwi, moa, and the takahē.

Some photos Marie gave me. Group shot and a takahē.

Thursday: November 16

Every Thursday we go to Zealandia. I hear their volunteer network is insane! Some 500 consistent volunteer workers. That’s pretty awesome. If it weren’t for the volunteers, Zealandia wouldn’t be the place it is today.

Today we cleared a section of the fence so pests can’t benefit from the overgrown trees (see photos below). The gorse plant (or devils bedding as Marie and I call it) is the worst. Blah! So many needles that give me temporary hives. Could be worse though. The Scottish brought gorse over to make hedges out of it. I would have definitely stayed off their property!

Some cool bugs Raoul found. A New Zealand’s version of a daddy long leg and a weta.

Amazing scenery

And some random photos

Our first dinner without Coco and our last dinner with Benjamin from France (to the right of me). In Ben fashion, we were all saying “yeah mon” instead of “cheeeeeese”.

 

Friday: November 17

Today was a short day. David picked us up around 8:45a and we were back by 1:45p. We went to a common area to clear an area of blackberry bushes. Blackberries are not so invasive if they are managed, but if not, they take over.

Pictured below are before and after shots.

We also came across some more bugs today. A giant earthworm and an apple moth cocoon (see photos below). After researching what kind of cocoon I came across, this soon-to-be moth originated in Australia where it has natural predators. Unfortunately, it’s a nuisance in New Zealand since it doesn’t have many predators to reduce its population. Basically I saved a serial NZ fruit and native plant killer.

In the evening I went to the Wellington Night Market (located on my favorite street) with most of the roomies. The market has several vendors and live music. You can’t see the vendors so well in the photo below, but they are behind the musician in a straight line. I purchased a Cambodian vegan noodle dish. Delicious!A cider with the roomies

Marie and I were feeling youngish, wildish, and free so we stayed out while everyone else went back to the house. We hit up some Irish pubs that had fantastic cover bands.

The coolest thing happened at the second pub. A girl lost her passport while dancing with her girlfriends. The band refused to play until EVERYONE stopped what they were doing to look for the passport. Over the microphone, the lead singer reassured her that she was going to find it as Kiwis (the people) are the best and most honest of individuals… Sure enough the passport was found and the tears were wiped away. I absolutely love the culture here. The energy is just so pure.