Concerning Careers, Conservation and Cloacae

This time last year, I had no experience in conservation and very little knowledge about it. After having chased the millennial dream of spending $40,000 on an unemployable degree, I could feel my hope being chipped away with every minimum wage job I accepted. Although I mopped those floors with the precision that only a sociology major could achieve, I couldn't help but feel like my time could be better spent. What sparked that glimmer of interest in me when hearing of the BCA cadet program was the idea of finally being able to do something worthwhile. To consider meaning over money. To not chase a career, but a cause.

When I applied for the program I had only a vague idea of what to expect and my perception of what conservation work entailed was probably similar to what most people on the street would think: idealised images of planting trees, being in nature and getting in touch with the wildlife. 

You can imagine my shock, then, when on only the second day at about 9:30 in the morning, I was sat, sifting bare-fingered through a duck's worm-addled anus. ("Cloaca", I learned was the correct term). I will admit that it's experiences like these that make one wonder, "just how in touch with the wildlife did I really want to get?" But in all seriousness, it is opportunities like these that make the BCA cadet program what it is. For someone like me, the opportunity to experience and participate in something that I didn't even know occurred, let alone how it's done, was priceless. To get out with a group of local people and be handed a duck to band is a completely different mode of learning than what I had been used to.

But other than the physical experience, the other main factor that I believe makes the program so valuable is the people you do it with. And before your heart melts into a pool of sentiment from my sweet words, I don't mean that it was nice to make friends and have a merry laugh the whole time (as true as that may have been). And I'm not even referring to the wide array of people we met who imparted their endless knowledge upon us, for which we are all very thankful. What I do mean is how all of these people impact the way one perceives their future in conservation, and indeed, their place in the world.

I say this because I have learned that conservation can be daunting. The sheer scope of what it involves and the magnitude of what it takes to get the things done that we need to get done can be overwhelming. When you're constantly fighting an endless uphill battle or when one small incident can undo years of progress, you can understand why people would think of it as a hopeless endeavour. But, being surrounded by the people that I have been surrounded by every week, these people who are filled with endless passion, with brilliant knowledge and the drive to do whatever they are required to do to achieve their goals, alleviates these fears. To know that the future is filled with people like those I have met on this course makes the road ahead seem more hopeful and a little more manageable. It is my personal goal for my future that I might become a little more like all of them.

I would like to extend my thanks to everyone involved in the BCA cadet program for allowing me to work towards that goal. I would also encourage anyone considering moving into the world of conservation to make that move in whatever capacity they can. To be opened up to a community that creates and shares hope is incredibly empowering and the more people who can share in this, the better the outcome for everyone.

Daniel Neve, Intake 4 cadet

Do you know a business or individual interested in donating to support conservation outcomes?

BCA now manages a discretionary fund which holds any donations made to us, in order to make available to our member groups. Its intention is to make it easier for our groups to access funds for smaller ad hoc costs that may emerge throughout the year and reduce the administration load of lengthy funding application processes and reporting for small grants.

The fund was seeded by local business Cheeky Roosters last year and has seen several individuals also contribute. Using some of the funds, a project is underway to help document Rob McGowan's (Pa Ropata's) amazing Rongoa collection and create an education resource. We are supporting another project with bat recorders (when they finally arrive in the country!).

Funding being awarded to BCA from the Acorn Foundation will be added to this fund in August and will be made available to Western Bay BCA member groups. Thanks to Acorn for enabling this to happen.

So, if the answer is yes, you know someone who may like to donate, please share our donation link here: Donations | Bay Conservation Alliance

Together as funders, enablers, and doers we can bring about positive change in our region.

We're pretty excited to have released an ecological connectivity strategy for the western part of the Western Bay of Plenty.

Thanks to funding support from Western Bay of Plenty District Council, we have worked alongside Boffa Miskell to develop this innovative tool.

The Strategy has two key objectives:

1. To map and identify opportunities to protect, enhance, connect, and extend existing forest and wetland habitats.

2. To enable communities, mana whenua, council, and other agencies to work together effectively to achieve conservation outcomes.

The connectivity strategy is underpinned by robust data analysis of the habitat needs of indicator species. For this analysis, we used kereru with forest habitats and matuku with wetland habitats.

The analysis shows the highest priorities for restoration action in the landscape by identifying which are the best habitats and where are the easiest corridors for these species to travel between the habitats. It also shows where restoration action is already happening (care/community groups, QEII Covenants, etc.) so the restoration gaps can be clearly identified.

We hope this allows for the strategic establishment of new restoration initiatives focused on the best habitats for these indicator and other species.

Our plan is to use the strategy alongside schools we are working with in the area and generate some new student led restoration activities and encourage new or extended community action.

Check out the strategy here

And if you would like help establishing new projects, please contact Janie Stevenson: janie@bayconservation.nz

We celebrated national Volunteer Week at the end of June. So, we just want to acknowledge all the amazing volunteers out there – thank you. Without your dedicated mahi across so many different projects, our environment would be far worse off.

Did you know the Bay of Plenty Regional Council supports 64 different care groups across the Bay? BCA now supports 24 different member groups across the Bay.

We are truly inspired by such valuable community action out there controlling weeds, pest animals, restoring waterways, planting, monitoring, building community and inspiring future generations.

Great to see some volunteer groups celebrating as part of volunteer week and acknowledging your volunteer heroes. 😊

Thinking about doing some conservation volunteering?

Check out a range of conservation groups here: Members | Bay Conservation Alliance

Want to help with Coast Care BOP dune plantings this winter? Check out events here.

Credit: Whakatane Kiwi Trust

Last week we had the pleasure of attending the formal Handover Ceremony of the Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project. We were blessed with a beautiful day in Matamata with the stunning Wairere Falls as the backdrop.

The event was warmly hosted by Ngāti Hinerangi and Ngāti Haua welcoming everyone onto their whenua. The handover was formally marked by the gifting of a waka huia from Te Papa Atawhai to the Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust.

This is a significant milestone for the Trust, a huge well done. The ceremony acknowledged the work done over many years and by many interest groups to get to this point and the kaimahi who have been working hard across all the new projects to ensure our ngahere thrives.

The project teams set up some awesome display stands which gave everyone in attendance an insight into some of the mahi they are undertaking across the Kaimai Mamaku pae maunga. Good luck everyone, the job ahead is big but with many hands and a collaborative effort, great gains will be made.

E kore taku toa i te toa takitahi engari, he toa takitini - My strength is not that of one but that of many.

Credit: Riki Nelson

When we asked our intake 4 cadets if they would help us make a new short promotional video, they willingly stepped up to the challenge!

A special shout out goes to Courtney McNish, Sienna Walker and Mark Vevers for sharing your insights from your cadet experience. And equal thanks to Helen Saville, Brady Hotham, Sophie Robinson and Mark for being great sports filming in the field, it was a lot of fun!

The reward for the BCA team in hosting this programme is watching the life journeys unfold as cadets go on to employment in the environmental sector, taking knowledge back to hapū and contributing to positive change – we couldn't be prouder.

Check out the video below.

And if that's inspired you to join our Intake 6 starting in September, make sure you apply by 25th July:

Bay Conservation Cadets - Tauira Mahi | Bay Conservation Alliance

It's proving another busy term for our school education work, led by Janie Stevenson. We were super impressed this week to receive a lovely update and donation from  Ōtūmoetai Primary School who recently visited Ōtanewainuku.

After their visit and feeling inspired the students set about organising a bake sale to raise funds to make a donation. They achieved $750! This will support more education work and the work of the Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust – a huge thank you.

The students and teachers also worked on follow up activities including some great art pieces. We love watching the passion and knowledge build in our young leaders. 😊

 Ōtūmoetai Primary School Students Artwork.

We were sad to see our lovely Finance & Admin Coordinator Remedy Emtage leave in late April. Rem has headed off to a Marketing Manager role for the remainder of the year and is considering travels in the northern hemisphere next year. Go well Rem. 😊

We are pleased to welcome Claire Hartley back to the team. Claire was our original Administrator and left to have baby Arwen three years ago. Claire is returning part-time to support finance and admin tasks. Lovely to have you back Claire.

While she has a few weeks left, best wishes to Jenn Sheppard who is expecting her second baby in August. Jenn currently tutors the species component of our cadet programme and brings great energy to it. While Jenn is away we welcome Thomas Knight to our cadet training team. Thomas has worked in many international zoos, Rainbow Springs, and species projects including kōkako and brings a wealth of knowledge to the team. Welcome Thomas.

With our school education programme expanding we are also delighted to welcome Awhina Awhimate from the Maketū Ōngātoro Wetland Society, who will be supporting Janie Stevenson with some of our BCA education days.