Many Wanaka folk may be unaware that the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society (F&B) was established nearly 100 years ago.
From these early and somewhat modest beginnings, F&B is now actively involved in indigenous species and habitat protection through its 70,000 members and supporters throughout NZ.
Since the recognised conservation needs in 1923, science and accumulated experience have clearly demonstrated that many of NZ’s native ecosystems and species have become degraded to critical levels.
The F&B Central Otago Lakes Branch is a small, active, and influential group that frequently “punches above its weight” in advocating, raising funds, and implementing conservation activities. These include field excursions, evening talks, tenure review inspections and reporting, restoration programmes at selected sites and, for the last 20 years, predator trapping at Makarora.
As part of the trapping programme, the branch is hosting Dr Rebecca Stirnemann during the week starting 26th June.
Rebecca is the F&B Mid-North Island Regional Manager and is widely recognised as an effective conservationist and environmental advocate. As well as talking to MAC and Makarora School students, she will address a public meeting at 7 pm on Wed 27th June at the St Johns Rooms on monitoring the Manumea, Samoa’s National Bird, as well as bird related topics of local interest
A practical focus of Rebecca’s visit will be the potential for using remote monitoring recorders for analysing bird song.
This innovative technology could help us assess the effects of our predator trapping on endangered bird populations at Makarora.
- Bruce Jefferies
