Keep New Zealand Beautiful Day

Kaipupu volunteers recently took time out from sanctuary work and turned up with smiles on their faces and rubbish bags in hands on a very windy day to walk the harbour coastline from Picton to Bobs Bay to pick up beach rubbish. All sorts of things were found along the beach, and everything was picked up that hadn’t blown away in the very fresh conditions. After the beach was squeaky clean, the sun came out, and everyone enjoyed a barbeque and hot drinks to celebrate a great morning.

Fauna work

Monitoring the status of fauna is an important part of sanctuary development, so we can see what biological gains we are achieving from pest control, and eventually total pest eradication. Full monitoring programmes that can be undertaken by volunteers will be set up prior to the final pest eradication in mid-2012.

Construction of the fence

The fence has been the major project so far in the development of the sanctuary. First it required significant vegetation to be cleared and the ground to be excavated for a stable base for the fence. Vegetation must not hang over the fence as several of our pests can jump a fair distance – cats and possums for example. Volunteers were all given the training they needed to take part in the construction of the fence.

Clearing ready for the predator proof fence

Winter Slips

The high rainfall over the winter has given volunteers extra work to do. Some areas uphill from the fence have been slipping, and volunteers have set to work with barrows and shovels to clear the debris away for a clear accessway. The slopes on Kaipupu headland are steep, and the soils, like the entire Sounds area, are easily eroded, but willing hands make great progress.

Port Marlborough came to the rescue, when the job was deemed too big for just hand tools, and spent many hours on the headland with diggers to clear the slips from the fence.

Volunteers clearing dirt from a slip near the fence

Work with wheebarrows and shovels to clear another slip after heavy winter rain