ZAA-accredited zoos and aquariums highlight their activities through Conservation Week

September 29, 2019

Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) has highlighted the input and contributions of ZAA accredited zoos and aquariums during this year’s 50th anniversary of Conservation Week/ Te Wiki Tiaki Ao Tūroa held from 14th to 22nd September 2019.

ZAA-accredited zoos and aquariums in New Zealand held a vast range of activities to engage their communities with this year’s theme: ‘nature needs us’.

Family and student activities
Auckland Zoo held fun activities at their Wild Work centre, where visitors created seed-bombs to spread healthy herbs and vegetables in their backyards to help native wildlife thrive.

The Hamilton Zoo education team hosted a special event for school students at neighbouring Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park, which is a large-scale restoration project which covers about 60 hectares. New Zealand’s largest inland restoration project, the aim is to recreate an example of the Hamilton Basin’s previously rich ecological diversity.

Almost 350 students from 14 Waikato schools joined the Hamilton Zoo team for the chance to venture into the park and see the fantastic restoration work going on at Waiwhakareke first hand.

Kiwi North partnered with a range of organisations to deliver an event called ‘Friends or Foe in Your Backyard’, a free event for people interested in the native and endemic species that live around them and want to create and protect habitats that encourage these species to thrive in their locality.

Natureland Wildlife Trust kicked off the weekend with a hunt to find five ways to help their 'Conservation Critters'. The activity encouraged children to find all five native species hiding around the park. The activity aimed to engage the children with the five featured species and help them discover a few ways they can help them and their homes survive.

Rainbow Springs Nature Park collaborated with Forest and Bird's Kiwi Conservation Club to hold BioBlitz 2019, a unique and interactive way to understand what’s happening to the local environment over a period of time. For this fun research project, their guides taught participants new ways to get involved in local conservation activities with the Kiwi Conservation Club - connecting children to New Zealand’s amazing wildlife and wild places.

Conservation partners and projects
Department of Conservation (DOC) Kiwibank Conservation Dogs Pai and Piri were at Auckland Zoo to show the great work they do to conserve native wildlife, with hourly demonstrations taking place at the zoo. In between demonstrations, the dogs walked the zoo grounds with their handler and DOC staff to meet visitors and answer questions.

Kiwi Birdlife Park kicked off Conservation Week with their partners at Ziptrek Ecotours Queenstown as they launched their new community space and green wall. The Kiwi Birdlife Park Manager Paul was a guest speaker on a panel alongside Richard from Real Journeys to discuss the role of tourism in conservation.

SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium held a special event for children curious about creatures and who love all things weird and wonderful to come and meet the Department of Conservation (DOC) Rangers who had all kinds of quirky and magnificent marine artefacts for them to look at, hold and learn about.

50 years of Conservation Week
The Department of Conservation celebrated the 50th anniversary of Conservation Week at Otago Museum with the popup special exhibition 50 Years of Conservation Week! The installation presented posters featuring a wide range of conservation programmes and projects over the years to teach visitors about the long history of Conservation Week in New Zealand.

Special announcements
Wellington Zoo had a special announcement for Conservation Week. They have launched their own Conservation Fund Local Grants Programme. These grants will provide funding for projects or programmes with clear community conservation value for native wildlife and wild places. The zoo team want to support projects in the wider community and invite applications from the Greater Wellington Region and the Chatham Islands (part of the local Rongotai electorate).

Grants will be awarded up to a maximum of $5,000 and most grants will be between $1,500 - $3,000. The deadline for applications is 5pm Thursday 31st October 2019.

Image: Wellington Zoo staff who planted around Owhiro Bay, as part of Zoo staff conservation leave; and above DOC conservation dogs visiting Auckland Zoo. Courtesy of Joseph Kelly.

23rd September 2019 - $40 million Monarto Zoo development to provide ‘biggest safari experience outside of Africa’

18th July 2019 - Zoos and aquariums celebrate and educate through Plastic Free July

30th April 2019 - Zoos Victoria ban all single-use plastics

4th March 2019 - Taronga Zoo Seal Show wins award for Public Engagement

17th September 2018 - ZAA-accredited zoos to collaborate on conservation and animal welfare

28th May 2018 - Zoos and aquariums look to reduce plastic waste

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