Ranger kōrero – exploring conservation

In this episode of Ranger kōrero – the big picture, ranger Aroha explores the meaning of conservation in Aotearoa and what that means for us and our taonga species.

Ranger kōrero – the big picture is a series of short films presented by Department of Conservation rangers. The short films explore key concepts in our unique New Zealand environment, including conservation and biodiversity.

Transcript

Aroha

Kia ora, I'm Aroha and I'm a DOC Ranger. That means I work for the Department of Conservation looking after our natural environment and all of its inhabitants.

Today we're talking about something close to all of our hearts, protecting our taonga, our natural treasures. That's what we do here at DOC. Conservation is the protection of animals plants and natural resources.

Aotearoa is home to around 70,000 species. Some of these species are so unique that they exist nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, many of these species are under threat due to things like habitat loss, climate change and introduced species and predators. Things that our native plants and animals were not used to before us humans arrived.

Our aim is to create a safe and healthy environment for all our native plants and animals so we don't lose them forever. Everything in our ecosystems, even the tiniest of bugs have a unique role to play and that includes us too so caring for these ecosystems is important for our well-being and survival.

Let's take a closer look at some of the important work DOC is doing around Aotearoa.

This is Tim. Tim works for the save our iconic kiwi program in Fiordland. Through monitoring the program aims to increase kiwi numbers in the wild.

Tim

Kiwi, their exceptionally cute, charismatic little fellas and they're also very unique and special. Next year there will have been a predator control operation we're gonna get a Kiwi and that's like growing, that's really motivating and that's a big driver. It's really cool to be able to step in before things are on the rocks.

Aroha

And in Ohakune, Ali is working with our native bats.

Ali

A lot of New Zealanders don't even realise that we have native bats. They are such an endangered species they are really hard to find and hard to monitor. It's a bit like being on a treasure hunt. I love the bats because they’re absolute characters. They're like little pit bulls with wings they've got attitude. That does motivate you to try to protect them at a whole lot more. I feel super privileged to be working with short tail bats. I really want to be able to look back on my career and know that I made a difference.

Another way we protect our unique biodiversity is through biosecurity.

Biosecurity helps prevent or reduce any damage caused by unwanted organisms such as predators pests weeds and diseases. In Northland we're helping keep our ancient kauri tree safe from kauri dieback disease. There is currently no cure for kauri dieback and it can be spread through just a tiny amount of soil. By installing boardwalks and cleaning stations we're making sure that the disease isn't being spread and these majestic giants will still be watching over our forests for thousands of years to come.

Protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystems and protecting our biodiversity. It's a big job and we can use all the help we can get.

I'm here at Discovery school, an Enviroschool in Porirua. Let's check out what they're doing to make a difference.

This looks awesome, can you tell me a little bit about what you're doing here?

Students

We are planting some native plants.

Aroha

And why have you been doing that?

Students

It's soaking up all the water to make it so it's not all like muddy where the drains are and then stop lots of dirt and stuff going into the gutters and filling them up.

The water that goes down to the drain goes into the streams and the streams go down to the ocean and we don't want the fish to die.

So we're gonna make some drain art so people know if there's any litter or stuff they can try and clear it away.

Aroha

Why is nature important to us?

Students

Because nature is basically the whole entire world.

It's everything to everyone.

And if we didn't have that we wouldn't be alive.

Aroha

Ka pai Discovery school! This could be the beginning of something big. There are a whole bunch of ways that we can all be involved and help conserve nature in our local environment. Remember you are part of your environment. What you do does make a difference. Have a chat yourselves and with your teacher about how you in your school can get involved in a conservation project in your community.

Head on over to the DOC website for more ideas, resources and info.

Let's continue working together so that our taiao our environment can thrive.