That conviction led to her receiving a 2026 Forest & Bird Tī Kōuka Award for her exceptional service to the South Otago branch.
Affectionately known as the ‘‘Bat Lady’’, Mrs Gower set up a long-term pekapeka-tou-roa/long-tailed bat survey programme in the Catlins alongside popular bat walks.
The Catlins Bat Project, established in 2014, consisted of transect surveys and year-round bat activity monitoring across the district and popular annual summer bat evenings.
She was the driving force behind Long Yellow Ribbon, a riparian revegetation project — the ribbons being the kōwhai and ribbonwood trees that once were a feature along the Owaka River.
She grew hundreds of seedlings and organised working bees to plant them along the river margins as well as successfully encouraging local farmers to get involved in the riparian planting.
Recently, she organised Kiwi Conservation Club activities, including two art exhibitions, ‘‘On the Brink’’ and ‘‘Art at the Nuggets’’, and the Matuku Muster — searching for bitterns.
A citation for the award said Mrs Gower was always looking for an opportunity to advocate for nature and encouraging people to enjoy being in te taiao (the natural world).
Mrs Gower frequently organises fun community events focusing on enjoying Catlins wildlife and habitats.
She also promotes the South Otago branch’s work in a local quarterly newsletter and includes a note on a ‘‘weed of the season’’ each time.
Mrs Gower said she appreciated being part of the ‘‘wonderful, supportive’’ community of the Catlins and being trusted to share the joy wildlife gave her with others.
‘‘My highlights have been to hear of local children who have stopped their parents felling trees ‘because they might have bats in them’ and getting texts from farmers who have seen a bittern, or heard a bird they thought I might be able to identify for them, when they would never have noticed the birds before.’’
The five other Tī Kōuka award recipients this year were: Raewyn Morrison (Warkworth Area branch); Jane McLeod (Waikato branch); Anthea McClelland (Manawatū branch); Tim Robson (Nelson-Tasman branch) and Mick Ingram (North Canterbury branch).
The winners are nominated by their branches for the award, named after the cabbage tree — a symbol of longevity and persistence.
The awards were announced at Forest & Bird’s annual meeting at the weekend. — Allied Media
