Search Results

Pelorus June 2020 On June 19th 2020 we celebrated the first ever World Albatross day Our fantastic group of kids had fun learning all about the amazing and wonderful albatross. They learnt about how big its wing span can be and what its biggest threat is. They all then had fun making albatross mask's and drawing their own albatross. We put all of their drawings on a big poster to say thank you to HookPod - a company that is dedicated to helping protect the albatross from been caught on long line fishing. It was great fun and well done kids for all your cool pictures and masks. World Albatross Day

Find Out More About Each of These Events Below Children's Day Celebrations Every year Conservation Kids NZ endeavors to celebrate both National Childrens Day in March and World Children's Day in November. We aim to create fun and engaging events for tamariki and their whanau to attend and engage with and experience nature. One of our key outcomes at CKNZ is to ensure every child in Marlborough has had the opportunity to experience the amazing ocean and marine life of the Marlborough Sounds and also experience the wider outdoor Marlborough environment. Below you can find out more about each of our Childrens Day events and some of our past events. Our Children's Day events are only achievable thanks to the kind sponsorship of local businesses. If you or your business are keen to help sponsor one of these events, please feel free to contact us Contact us Te Rā O Ngā Tamariki National Childrens Day - Ocean Adventure Cruise - Celebrated in March Each Year Conservation Kids NZ endeavors to celebrate Te Rā O Ngā Tamariki - National Children's Day in March each year. We have a mission to ensure every child in Marlborough has experienced our amazing marine environment! Each year we celebrate our wonderful tamariki by hosting an Ocean Adventure Cruise to the amazing Lochmara Lodge! Come along to follow our adventure and celebrate Childrens Day with us. Find Out More World Childrens Day - Experiencing Nature Day - Celebrated in November Each Year Conservation Kids NZ also endeavors to celebrate World Children's Day in November each year. We have a mission to ensure every child in Marlborough has experienced our fantastic outdoor environment! Each year to celebrate our wonderful tamariki we host an experiencing nature themed day at different locations around Marlborough. On the day we offer multiple ways for tamariki to engage with and experience the different habitats in nature. Come along to follow our adventure and celebrate World Childrens Day with us. Find Out More

Learn more about our community garden, future living skills courses and eco-friendly retail. Waitohi Picton Community Garden Latest News! Keen to volunteer or get more involved in this project? We'd love to hear from you! Register your interest CLICK HERE! Initial foundation works for stage one will be happening in winter/spring 2024 - opportunities to become involved may vary until the garden is better established and kicking off (hopefully!) in time for the summer! BUT there will be working bees and opportunities to work together - so please register your interest with us! If you have any further questions, please get in touch at communitygarden@envirohub.co.nz or pop into the Picton Environment Centre, 14 Auckland St (Picton). Follow us on Facebook to keep up-to-date- with news www.facebook.com/pictongarden

Learn about our kekeno, the NZ Fur Seal and check out our games, activities, arts and crafts and how you can better protect them! Kekeno NZ Fur Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) Kekeno are the most common seal found in New Zealand. They are identifiable from other seals by their external ear flaps and hind flippers which rotate forward. Follow along to learn more about kekeno below. Besides for Kekeno, sea lions are the only other seal in NZ with ears. They way to tell kekeno apart is by checking if they have long whiskers and a pointy nose. They have two layers of fur to keep them warm and often found the rocky shores of New Zealand's coastline. Males grow up to 2.5m and 150 kg, whereas females grow up to 1.5m and 50 kg in weight. Kekeno Facts! General ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, GAMES AND QUIZZES Throughout this page you'll find some fun activities and resources you can explore at home with your whānau and friends. Some of these resources have been put together with the help of our fantastic local organisations. A huge thank you to those people who have helped put these together for us, we appreciate your support! Don't forget to share your activities with us, either tag us on social media or email them to us at conservationkids@envirohub.co.nz Little blues can hold their breath under water for 2minutes. The deepest recorded kororā dive in New Zealand is 35m, although they can dive as deep as 60m. They have 3 different diving styles - U-shaped, V-shaped and W-shaped. Click the image below to find out more about little blue penguin behaviour and ecosystem health. Kekeno Facts! Diving Crafts: Kororā Kinetics! Racing Penguins! Make your own little blue penguin at home, to race and test out what makes them speed up and what makes them slow down. Click ME to download a FINGER PUPPET! Click the image to download the PDF! Kekeno Facts! Adaptations Kororā are the only blue penguins in the world and this helps them to camouflage above and below water. Their thick layer of feathers help them to keep warm, streamlined and waterproof. They secrete an oily liquid from their preen gland to help them waterproof their feathers. Kororā flippers act as paddles to help them swim and propel through water. Source: Gettyimages There are many threats to kororā, at all stages in their life (eggs, chicks, adults). Predators are the greatest threat to little blue penguins, some including dogs, cats, rats, stoats and hedgehogs. It is super important to keep dogs on a leash when walking along coastlines where kororā may be living! Kekeno Facts! Threats GAME - Penguin Pathways What threats do human's have on kororā? Try out the Penguin Pathways game created by NZ Marine Studies Centre. All you need to do is download the PDF below, which has step by step instructions. All you'll need is CHALK or MASKING TAPE, and a few of tamariki! Tamariki pretend to be penguins moving along the coastline and experience the threats may encounter day to day. Click the image to download the PDF sheet! Kekeno Facts! Breeding Nesting: Between May- June, pairs return to their nests and spend time there. Incubation: Between July- December, Usually lay a clutch of 2 eggs. Chick rearing: They take care of chicks for ~ 8 weeks. Fledge: Chicks fledge at ~8 weeks. By 10 weeks they have left the nest. ACTIVITY - Build a penguin nesting box Find out if your local coastline area is home to kororā, and if those managing the area would like you to make penguin nesting boxes. Click the image to find this box design! Kekeno Facts! Check out this neat video from Meet the Locals to see Kekeno in their natural habitat and what is unique about the species. Other Kekeno Resources Below you will find links to other Kororā resources, click the images to take you to the websites. Check them out! LIVE penguin monitoring A great way to monitor kororā yourself but without disturbing their nests is by watching live cams located in the boxes. Check this one out below: Kaewa the Kororā by Rachel Haydon Department of Conservation For more Little Blue Penguin information click the DOC image below. Kekeno Facts! What YOU can do! So... HOW CAN YOU HELP LITTLE BLUES? Glad you asked! Firstly, help to reduce our plastic waste. Plastic can end up in our oceans and harm not only our kororā but other marine species. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse and Rot where possible! Keep an eye out for a beach cleanup near you and lend a helping hand. Click on the Plastic Free July logo, to help you get on your plastic free journey! Reduce plastic use! What you can do in your backyard: Help out your local trapping community. Practice trapping in your backyard, by putting up some traps around your property. If you have a pet cat, think about keeping them indoors at night-time, and have a bell on the collar. If you have a pet dog, make sure when on walks you keep your dog on a leash, especially around the coastline where kororā might be living. Use dog parks or off leash areas to allow your dog to let off steam. Get involved in coastal planting projects that might help encourage kororā to the area. Remember to be a tidy Kiwi and take rubbish home. What you can do when out and about: Go visit a Seal Colony! Visit Kaipūpū Sanctuary Kaipūpū Sanctuary is only ten minutes by water from Waitohi/Picton. On your visit, you may see fur seals, penguins, korimako, tūi, wētā and geckos (and many more). Rimu, miro, tōtara, ferns and many more varieties of plants feature. It is free to visit, but as a charity, your donations are welcome. Click on the Kaipūpū logo alongside to go to their website and find out more. Kekeno Gallery Images from our Seal Day events 2024 Kekeno Day

Learn about our beautiful taonga species, the Hamupēke | Humpback Whale and check out our games, activities, arts and crafts and how you can better protect them! Hamupēke Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Humpback Whales are oft en found in our waters around Aotearoa during their annual migrations. These incredible mammals like to sometimes put on a show! Follow along to learn all about the humpback whale and how you might spot one out in our ocean. Humpback whales like to put on great displays and can often been seen breaching (jumping) out of the water. They are easy to identify by their very distinctive hump in front of a small dorsal fin. They also have extremely long pectoral fins (up to 1/3 of their body length!) and a broad fluke (tail). The marks on a humpbacks tail are unique to each humpback - like fingerprints are to a human. You can use these marking to help identify individual humpback whales! Hamupēke Facts! General ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, GAMES AND QUIZZES Throughout this page you'll find some fun activities and resources you can explore at home with your whānau and friends. Some of these resources have been put together with the help of our fantastic local organisations. A huge thank you to those people who have helped put these together for us, we appreciate your support! Don't forget to share your activities with us, either tag us on social media or email them to us at conservationkids@envirohub.co.nz Image Credit - Andrea Izzotti Some tribes see whales as the descendants of Tangaroa, the god of the ocean. Whales possess a tapu (sacred) significance to Maori as both supernatural beings and as harbingers of personal change and spiritual growth. When whales appeared on long journeys by waka across the Pacific ocean, they were seen as a sign that the iwi should settle in that place. They were also seen as benevolent guardians when they swam alongside the waka, guiding the way through tumultuous Pacific storms towards the safety of land. Hamupēke Facts! Te Ao Maori Art - Create a Whale's Tail Create a Whale's Tail Whale Tails/Flukes are all differe nt and can be used to help identify individual whales. Have a go at creating your own unique patte rn for your own whale's fluke. Click the image to download the PDF! Hamupēke / Humpback whales feed on mostly small organisms such as tiny crustaceans called krill and even small fish. Humpback's have baleen plates in their mouth, these are large rows of keratin plates similar to human hair or fingernails. They filter feed by taking huge gulps, then filtering the water out leaving only the yummy crustaceans and fish behind to swallow. Click on this image to watch a video on how some humpback whales use bubble netting to feed! Hamupēke Facts! Ecology & Diet Image -Credit - Unknown CRAFT - Hamupēke Snacks Hamupēke Snacks Have some fun making an upcycled humpback whale from a toilet roll! Don't forget his baleen (instead of teeth) do you know what they made of in real life? Give your Hamupēke a name and make him some tasty snacks. This craft is to show how the large baleen plates in a humpback's mouth help to catch all their food! Don't forget to share your Hamupēke with us we would love to know its name. Click the image to download the PDF sheet! Image - Creator: Sean Steininger | Credit: Shutterstocki Hamupēke live all over the world - there are 14 distinct populations worldwide. The humpback whales we often see around the shores of NZ are from the Oceania population. Humpbacks are great migrators, traveling up to 16,000km each year! They like to feed in the colder Antarctic waters and migrate to warmer tropical waters for breeding and giving birth. You can often spot them migrating past NZ in the cooler months of June and July as they head north. Hamupēke Facts! Habitat Hamupēke GAMES Grab some of your friends or whānua and have a go at these fun Hamupēke games and activites. How Baleen Works This activity aim s to demonstrate how baleen plates work and how whales uses them to eat. Click on the image to download the instructions. If you give this game a go with your class or some friends take a pic or video a nd share it with us! How Long is a Hamupēke This activity aim s to demonstrate how larg e/long a humpback whale is. Get your friends and family toge ther, line up and visualize the length of a Humpback whale! Click on the image t o download the instructions. Image Credit - Unknown Humpback whales give birth to live young, just like us humans. A baby whale is called a calf. Whale calves are born tail first, then the mother guides the calf to the water surface for it to take its first breath. They suckle on their mum's milk which is rich and thick. The mother squirts the milk into the calf's mouth. Female Humpbacks only produce a calf every 2-3 years. Hamupēke Facts! Breeding ACTIVITY - Test Your Knowledge Test your knowledge - Parts of a Humpback Whale Have a go at testing your knowledge see how many parts of the whale you can name. Click on the image below to download the quiz and have a go. See how many you can answer! Click the image to download the quiz! Click the Humpback to download the answers. Ever wonder how the Humpback whale stays warm while swimming in the freezing water down in Antarctica ?? Well they have blubber - a fatty substance below their skin that helps to keep them warm. Check out this neat video from SciShow Kids that demonsrates how blubber works. Have a go at it your self - Did the blubber keep your hand warm? Don't forget to send us in a photo of you testing this out, we would love to hear all about your experiment. Hamupēke Facts! Crazy Facts! Other Hamupēke / Humpback Whale Resources Below you will find links to other Hamupēke resources, click the images to take you to the websites. Check them out! The Sea Swallow and the Humpbackwhale by Catherine Barr The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimarea Department of Conservation For more Humpback whale information click the image NOAA Fisheries For more Humpback information click the image Whale and Dolphin Conservation Become a whale guardian with WDC, check out their fun online digital progamme for kids. DOC - Toyota Kiwi Guardian Activity Help look after the humpback whales becoming a water champion! Although the Toyota Kiwi Guardian programme has now finished and you can no longer claim the medals. The activates are still a fantastic way for your tamariki to help support our conservation and native species. Below is a link to the "Water Champion" activity! Help to clean up a water way or coastline near you. Then take action to help protect it. Click the image to download a PDF Instruction sheet to learn how to become a Water Champion! Image Credit - Envirohistory NZ Historically, the biggest threat to our Humpback whales has been whaling, with this intensifying in the late 18th century up until 1965. Humpbacks were hunted in NZ waters, with hunters taking advantage of the migration seasons. Between 1911 and 1965, 4500 whales (mostly humpbacks) were caught in the Tory Channel alone. In 1965 the whaling industry collapsed with the whales had been hunted close to extinction. Since then, NZ has made large efforts to help protect our whales and help bring the numbers back. Whaling is now illegal in NZ waters, but there are still threats: plastic pollution and large boat strike are some of the biggest threats to our humpback whales today. Check out the next Hamupēke Fact to find out how you can help! Hamupēke Facts! Threats Hamupēke Facts! What YOU can do! So... How can you help protect our whales? Glad you asked! Firstly, help to reduce our plastic waste. Plastic can end up in our oceans and harm not only our whales but other marine species. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse and Rot where possible! Keep an eye out for a beach cleanup near you and lend a helping hand. Image Credit - Envirohub Beach Clean Up event Image Credit - Department of Conservation NZ Act safely on the water around Humpacks When out on a boat there are ways you can safely observe any marine life you come across, especially whales and other marine mammals. Click HERE to learn how you can safely share our coast lines with our beautiful taonga of the ocean. Visit a Hamupēke - Humpback Whale Southern Humpbacks migrate past NZ on their way to the warmer waters of the Pacific to breed. One hot-spot to see them as they migrate is in Kaikōura . You can hop on a whale watch tour in hopes of seeing one from the water, or find a high vantage point somewhere along the coast and try your luck at spotting! Remember, anywhere in the world that you join a tour or wildlife experience, make sure you do your research and ensure the experience is ethical and have the animal's best interests in mind! KORI's annual Great Kaikoura Whale Count Each winter, around June/July, the Kaikōura Ocean Research Institute holds an annual whale count, where they count as many whales migrating past Kaikōura as they can, with a focus on the humpbacks. You can even vol unteer to head along and help them out and be a part of the action! Click on the KORI logo above to go to their website and find out more. Sadly in 2023 they did not receive the funding needed to carry out the whale coun, but you can still head along yourself and have a go at spotting some whales from the shore. A good spot to take your binoculars and try your hand at spotting whales is from the top of Kaikōura peninsular track. Whale Blow Identification Have a go at identifying some whale's from the shore - different whales have unique blows when they come to the surface for air. This chart will show you how to identify what whale you have spotted from their blow or other distinctive features - e.g. humpback whales have a distinctive round shape to their blow. Click on the image to the right to download the instructions from DOC. Hamupēke / Humpback Whale Gallery Images from some of our Humpback Whale events 2023 Humpback Whale Day

Frequently Asked Questions about the Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer Frequently Asked Questions Frequently asked questions FAQ's How does the Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer work? We bring our Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer to events big and small across Marlborough. During the event set up we supply the awesome food vendors at the event with the reusable dishes and cutlery they need to serve their food. The event attendees order their food as usual and it is served on reusable dishes. Once the attendees are finished eating the dishes can be returned to our Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer or they will be collected by our hard-working volunteers. We then scrape, wash, rinse, sanitize and dry the dishes in the Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer. The dishes are then ready to go back to the vendors to be used again. Why not just use compostable packaging? There are a lot of reasons why reusables are a better option than composable single use packaging. First, Marlborough does not have a commercial composting facility so compostable packaging from events ends in the landfill. When it goes in the landfill it produces methane in the anaerobic conditions of the landfill. Second, resources and energy are used to create compostable packaging so even if it is able to be composted it is better to use a reusable dish or utensil than can be used again and again than to have to make new compostable packaging for every meal at every event. If you are interested in learning more about the issues with compostable packaging check out: https://takeawaythrowaways.nz/why How do you get the dishes super duper clean? We follow the global best practice guidelines for hygiene for reusables at events (check out https://sustainable-event-alliance.org/global-reusables-at-events-hygiene-standard/ for more information) . Our dishwashing procedure is: 1. All food scraps are scraped off the dishes 2. Dishes are washed in hot soapy water 3. Dishes are rinsed in hot soapy water 4. Dishes are sanitized by soaking them in extra hot water for 30 seconds or more. 5. Dishes are air dried The dishes are then returned to the vendors to be used again. I am interested in volunteering with the Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer. How do I find out more? Awesome! We can't do it without our amazing volunteers. We have events throughout the year, often on the weekends. You can volunteer at as many events as you like, but it is also ok if you are only available occasionally. You don't need any special skills, just a willingness to get stuck in and work as a member of a team. We will provide you with all the training and gear you need to be a dishwashing superstar. We also sometimes have volunteers managing recycling stations, making sure that that everything goes in the right bin and letting event attendees know how we are helping to reduce rubbish heading to the landfill. If you are interested please email our Zero Waste Coodinator, Heather Barnes at zerowaste@envirohub.co.nz How do I learn more about running a Zero Waste event? Want to know more about hygiene for reusable at events? Check out https://sustainable-event-alliance.org/global-reusables-at-events-hygiene-standard/ Check out these cool short videos for Event Organizers wanting to learn more about Zero Waste Events - https://beyondthebin.org.nz/videos-for-event-organisers/ Send Heather Barnes, our Zero Waste Coordinator an email at zerowaste@envirohub.co.nz as we would love to set up a time to discuss Zero Waste Events. How do I book Zero Waste Services? Please email our Zero Waste Coordinator, Heather Barnes, at zerowaste@envirohub.co.nz Interested in learning more about organizing a Zero Waste Event? Want to book our Zero Waste Dishwashing Trailer and Recycling Stations for your event? Email zerowaste@envirohub.co.nz

Budding Birders Jan 2019 Some of our fantastic Marlborough members became budding birders today. A big thank you to all the attendees at the Picton Dawn Chorus, CKNZ and Forest & Bird 'Budding Birders' event this weekend. A fantastic morning learning about and looking for birds in Shakespeare Bay.

50 Kiwi Kid Adventures Welcome to 50 KIWI KID ADVENTURES! We are excited to support the Department of Conservation's '50 Things to Do' poster. This is a great way to feel inspired and give you some options... especially when you're strating to run out of ideas at the end of the school holidays! What's fantastic about this project is you can complete it at home in your own time and check each one off your list as you go. Make sure you share your adventures with us - we love to see what you get up to! Facebook message or email your pics to conservationkids@envirohub.co.nz . Happy adventuring! Click this link to print off your own copy of the above poster 50 things to do colouring in sheet

Pelorus Jan 2019 Exploring Branford park the Edible walk As a group we went to explore Branford Park in Nelson, full of fruit and nut trees. The kids had a scavenger hunt to do along the way and we finished up with a picnic lunch in the shade. Branford Park

Pelorus Aug 2019 We learnt all about the Kakapo and then did a fundraiser to adopt one. We learnt all about the NZ Kakapo as a group, we played a game to help demonstrate the kakapos predators in the wild. Then we decorated stones like Kakapo and sold them of donation which we put towards adopting our very own Kakapo. Kakapo Day

Pelorus April 2020 We went to learn all about the NZ Giant Weta at the Koru Wildlife Centre The kids were very lucky to go and learn all about the Giant weta and NZ's very own parrot at the Koro Wild Life Center in Link Water. They got to see some awesome animals up close and test out the centers new microscope room to look at some bugs and things up close and personal. Such a fantastic facility right in our own backyard. Visiting the Koru Wildlife Centre

Bento Ninja Products Stainless Steel Products all designed to help you reduce your plastic waste. Stainless Steel Chopsticks Multicolour 4pair Set Unlike other reusable stainless steel or plastic chopsticks, these chopsticks are very comfortable to hold and easy to use. No slippery chopsticks and slipping food! No more warping wooden chopsticks or breaking plastic ones. These beauties would last a lifetime. * Premium food grade stainless steel chopsticks Will never deteriorate, and perish. Hygienic and durable, easy to wash. Dishwasher safe * Convenient size: 23 cm long. Perfect size for adult hands. * Quality to last for years: Premium quality with sturdy construction using 100% food-grade stainless steel 304. This product is free of BPA Stainless Steel Marine Grade Clothes Pegs Marine Grade FOREVER PEGS® Gorgeous and practical a perfect gift idea. These MARINE GRADE pegs are made to last forever. Ultimate FOREVER PEGS. This is the grade recommended to use if you live within 500m from the sea. They will NOT get rusty under harsh conditions. They even come in the handy & gorgeous reusable cotton cloth bags. You can reuse the bag for buying nuts, seeds, snacks or a small amount of fruit. PVD coating on Stainless steel 316 Size: 5.9cm x 1.5cm, 2mm wire diameter 20pc in a reusable cotton cloth bag Price Range Stainless Steel Spork $8each Fordable Spoon $7 each Chopstick Set (4 pack) $30 per pack Lunch box System (Deep) $68 each Lunchbox System (single) $43 each