Species Superstars As part of our Save Our Species Programme, we celebrate one stand-out individual at each event by crowning them our Species Superstar! We're looking for someone who shows, in their own unique and wonderful way, their passion and aroha for a species and its protection. Whether they're quietly dedicated or loudly enthusiastic, we are looking for that spark of kaitiakitanga that makes them shine! After each event, we'll announce our Species Superstar who wins an awesome prize pack to encourage and inspire them to keep going on their journey as kaitiaki for our taiao. Check out our past Species Superstars below! 👇 Species Superstars

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

Pelorus Nov 2019 We learnt all about the honey bee and what they do for our environment We learnt all about the honey bee and all the good they do for our environment. We even got to taste some of the yummy honey they make from all different plants giving it different tastes. Then we made some Honey Bee attracting gardens to take home made from recycled old ice cream containers. One of our local's has his own bee hives and he kindly brought along some items for the kids to have a look at and try on, he even brought along a smoker. Honey Bee Event

Pelorus Nov 2019 Learning all about the Long Tail Bat that lives here at Pelorus Bridge Our very lucky kids got to learn all about the local long tail bat that lives right here at Pelorus Bridge. The wonderful Gillian from the Bat Project came to tell the kids all about the bat. She even brought along the net they use to catch the bat so they can track it. After some fun games and a coloring in competition. We headed off to check out weta motels we had made a few months back and have a look in the Weta Tree while we waited for it to get dark. Once it was dark we went out bat spotting with our bat detectors. We found bats!!!! it was amazing to see them flying through the air and hearing them on the detectors. The kids had a blast. Bat Night

Hidden page to load CKNZ events under Please don't delete

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

Anihana Products Are you sick of boring beauty products that dry your skin out? Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a range of fun, luxurious bath and beauty products that left your skin feeling deliciously clean and hydrated? Well there is… The products at Anihana Cosmetics are not only vibrant, but are also an all natural treat for your skin! Anihana soaps are lovingly handcrafted with natural ingredients, to gently cleanse, moisturise and care for your skin. Our hydrating coconut oil also has antioxidant qualities. So relax.... it's all good! Imagine relaxing in a hot bath whilst your Anihana bath bomb fizzes away around you... enjoy the fruity aroma and let the hydrating coconut oil nourish your skin. Made with natural ingredients and no nasties like SLS, SLES or Parabens... so relax... it's all good! Clean your hair without worrying about your impact on the environment with our range of hair care products. Price Range All soaps $8 each Bath bombs $7 each Scrub bar $7 each Shampoo bar $11 each Conditioner bar $11 each 2 in 1 hair bar $11 each Solid lotion $13 each Loofah soap $7 Shower Steamers $5

Kaipupu Sanctuary Dec 2018 Our very first ever trip for our Pelours Members to the wild life sanctuary Our first ever trip as a Pelorous group back in 2018, we headed out to Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary just a 10min boat ride out of Picton. Andrew from Forest and Bird talk to the kids about different pests and traps and about some native birds in Picton before heading out to the wild life sanctuary by boat to explore! Andrew showed us all around the sanctuary, explaining the predator fence and showing how it works. The kids played games and explored the sanctuary, such a fantastic day!!

We can help you recycle a number of hard to recycle items from bottle caps to batteries to toothpaste tubes and more. About Us Get Involved Zero Waste Conservation Kids NZ Community Garden Marine Conservation Zoe's Fund More... Collection Point Recycling Did you know Envirohub Marlborough is a collection point for numerous recycling programs? Although we would prefer everyone to choose reusable items first and foremost, we also love initiatives like these that recycle and then reuse! Feel free to drop any of the items at our Recycle Collection Point in Picton. PICTON Mariners Mall High Street, Picton Open Business Hours Items collected: All items listed below! DOWNLOAD POSTER - CLICK HERE Thank you for actioning the 5 R's Rethink - Refuse - Reduce - Reuse - Recycle Aluminium Can Tabs & Aluminium Wine Bottle Caps 'Kan Tabs for Kids' goes towards supporting the families of children on dialysis, and is the largest nationwide Lions Club project. The tabs and caps are collected in their thousands, and packaged before being sent to metal merchants for weighing and payment. A single cap works out to the equivalent of one second on dialysis. Metal Recycling Beer Bottle Caps Beer bottle caps can be recycled for scrap metal and made in to new products. Awesome! Used Good Nature Gas Canisters These are made of recycled and recyclable steel. Picton Dawn Chorus collects these once used and takes them to a local facility to be melted down and used again. Battery Recycling 2026 Update: Please drop these to the Picton Transfer Station on Gravesend Place, Picton. Help keep toxic and hazardous waste from going to landfill. Drop off your household batteries here for recycling! Batteries accepted include: powertools, mobile phones, laptops, cordless phones, hearing aides, watches, batteries, cameras and, of course, your regular household batteries! Colgate oral care goods Toothbrushes, Toothpaste Tubes, Floss and Mouthwash Containers Drop off Colgate brand only oral care waste and Envirohub Marlborough will send them to TerraCycle to be made in to new recycled products. Please remove all toothpaste and floss from the countainers and recycle the cardboard packaging in your recycling bin. Clean Used Razor Blades - ANY Brand! You can drop your clean used blades into Envirohub Marlborough and we will package them correctly and send them back to Caliwoods for repurposing or recycling. Product Stewardship at it's finest! Wool Pouches from Bargain Box/My Food Bag We would love to collect the wool pouches that keep food cool in the meal box deliveries. This wool pouch can go in your garden or compost but Picton Dawn Chorus is collecting them to cover new native seedlings. Please save them up for us and drop them off in the Mariners Mall. Thank you! Old Mobile / Cell Phones We are a drop off location for RE:MOBILE recycling for mobile phones. The phones are recycled or refurbished by RE :MOBILE and the profits are donated to Sustainable Coastlines. For more information visit https://remobile.org.nz/

Learn about our beautiful taonga species, the Tohorā | Southern Right Whale and check out our games, activities, arts and crafts and how you can better protect them! Tohorā Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) Southern Right Whales are found throughout the Southern Hemisphere and are a native migrant to New Zealand. They are typically black in colour, have large paddle-shaped flippers and have a large head covered in callosities. Follow along to learn more about Tohorā below. Southern Right Whales are slow swimmers and also very acrobatic! They are easy to identify by their unique callosities on their heads. Callosities are large, white, rough growths that can be made up of parasitic worms, whale lice and barnacles. The callosities on a southern right are unique to each southern right making them easy to identify and track their movements. They also has a unique V blow, with the water rising in two columns to a height of 5m. Tohorā 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. Tohorā Facts! Te Ao Maori Art - Create Whale Watching Binoculars Binoculars Have fun making your own whale watching binoculars. Go out and explore the coastline and see what you can spot in the sea. Click the image to download the PDF! Tohorā Facts! Ecology & Diet Southern Rights feed on zooplankton in the cold nutrient-rich Southern Ocean. They are skim feeders and swim with their mouths open for long periods of time, filtering krill and plankton through their baleen plates. Baleen plates are made of keratin, the same substance which makes up our hair or fingernails. CRAFT - Tohorā Snacks Southern Right's Snacks Have some fun making an upcycled southern right whale from paper roll! Don't forget her baleen! Give your whale a name and make her some tasty snacks. This craft is to show how the large baleen plates in a baleen whale's mouth help to catch all their food! Don't forget to share your Tohorā with us, we would love to know its name. Click the image to download the PDF sheet! Tohorā live and migrate in the Southern Ocean. They are found in the South Atlantic between June and December. They migrate from the icy Southern Ocean to their breeding grounds in the South Atlantic along the African coastline. Click on the image to watch a video about how a group of Southern Right whales were discovered again in New Zealand, at the brink of extinction. Tohorā Facts! Habitat Tohorā GAMES Grab some of your friends or whānua and have a go at these fun Tohorā games and activities. 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 Southern Right? This activity aim s to demonstrate how larg e/long a southern right is. Get your friends and family toge ther, using the cards, measure out and compare the different sizes of baleen whales and toothed marine mammals. Click on the image t o download the fact cards. Southern Right whales are mammals and give birth to live young, just like us humans. A baby whale is called a calf. Females usually give birth to their first calf when they are eight to ten years old. Female Southern Rights only produce a calf every 3-5 years. Tohorā Facts! Breeding ACTIVITY - Baleen whale or Toothed marine mammal? Test your knowledge - download the cards below and see if you can guess which are baleen whales and which are toothed marine mammals. Click the image to download the cards! Ever wonder how the Southern Right Whales stays warm while swimming in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean ?? 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 demonstrates how blubber works. Have a go at it your self - Did the blubber keep your hand warm? Tohorā Facts! Crazy Facts! Other Southern Right Whale Resources Below you will find links to other Tohorā resources, click the images to take you to the websites. Check them out! NOAA Fisheries For more Tohorā information click the image below. Tohorā The Southern Right Whale by Ned Barraud Department of Conservation For more Southern Right whale information click the DOC image below. Southern Right Whales were hunted to near extinction in the 18-1900s. In 1920 there were only 400 left on the planet. The Souhthern Right whale gets it name from being the "right" whale to hunt. This was because they are so slow moving and are very buoyant in the water. Since whaling become illegal in NZ in 1978, NZ has made large efforts to help protect our whales and help bring the numbers back. Current threats to Tohorā include: predators, climate change, net entanglement, large boat strikes and ocean pollution. Check out the next Tohorā Fact to find out how you can help! Tohorā Facts! Threats Tohorā 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 What can you do if you see a stranded whale? Reduce plastic use! If you'd like to be prepared to help in a whale stranding you can attend Marine Mammal Medic Course run by Project Jonah. Click HERE to find out what DOC does when there is a stranding. Image Credit - Department of Conservation NZ Act safely on the water around marine mammals 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. Go Spot a Southern Right! 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. You can even vol unteer to head along and help them out and be a part of the action! Click on the KORI logo alongside to go to their website and find out more. Tohorā Whale Gallery Images from our Southern Right Whale events 2024 Whale Day

Learn more about our community garden, future living skills courses and eco-friendly retail. Sustainable Communities In light of the recent global pandemic Envirohub Marlborough acknowledges the need for increased support to create more self sufficient and sustainable households and communities in Marlborough. Our Sustainable Communities Program has three main components: Establishing and managing a community garden for all members of the Picton community. Facilitating Future Living Skills Courses from the Sustainable Living Education Trust Selling environmentally friendly and affordable sustainable living products at the Picton Environment Centre. Photos from the 2020 Future Living Skills Course with Steve and Rebekah Community Garden Envirohub Marlborough is in the process of setting up a community garden in Picton. The community garden will provide a shared space that allows locals to grow their own fruit, vegetables and plants whilst promoting a peaceful surrounding for social interaction and development, bringing our community together. We also plan for surplus vegetables from the community garden to be distributed to those in need Watch this space, we hope to be up and running early 2022! For more information contact Wendy Sullivan at pcgprojectmgr@gmail.com Future Living Skills Courses from the Sustainable Living Education Trust Envirohub Marlborough facilitates the Sustainable Living Education Trust Future Living Skills Courses. These courses explore practical and fun ways to reduce your environmental impact. The topics range from organic gardening to water and energy conservation, from waste minimisation to community resilience. The courses are run at various times throughout the year and are about finding simpler, healthier, less wasteful ways to live good quality lives here in New Zealand To learn more about the Future Living Skills Programme visit https://sustainableliving.org.nz/ To find out when the next courses will be run contact Heather Barnes at zerowaste@envirohub.co.nz Environmentally Friendly and Affordable Sustainable Retail We sell a wide range of earth friendly products at our retail location, the Picton Environment Centre. This is the home of our our social enterprise aspect of the trust but you can also find us fundraising and selling our retail at local markets and events around Marlborough. Our focus is on making these products and environmentally friendly choices accessible and affordable to our community. We work hard to ensure that not only are our products kind to the environment but they also come with packaging that can be reused, recycled or composted. All proceeds from our retail sales support the programs and campaigns of Envirohub Marlborough Charitable Trust. To find out more visit “Earth Friendly Products”

Learn more about our taonga species - the Kotare | Kingfisher. Find facts, games, arts, crafts and activities here! Kōtare ~ Kingfisher (Alcedinidae) The Sacred Kingfisher is native to New Zealand. Found widely across NZ, they are easily identified by their bright blue feathers and unique silhouette of a prominant beak and tail. Native - Not Threatened Kōtare Facts! General NZ kōtare grow to about 23cm in length are very easy to spot. They have a distinctive bright green and blue set of feathers on their backs down to their long tail and across their wings. They have a distinctive white band that runs around their necks with a yellow and white chest. Male kōtare are normally much brighter than the females. You will also notice a kōtare has a larger bill-shaped beak, rather than the slender, more narrow beak often found in other birds. Image Credit - Marie-Louise Myburgh via NZ birds online ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, GAMES AND QUIZIES 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 CRAFT - Kōtare Mask Image Credit - Totaea Art Kotare / Kingfisher Limited Edition Print – Totaea Birds in general hold a vital place in traditional Maori life, providing food, feathers for adornment. Whakataukī (sayings) and metaphors are often used to compare birds with people’s behaviour (favourably or unfavourably), which is also the case with the kōtare. Kōtare are admired by Maori for being a watchful sentry. A sentry is person who guards or controls access to a place. Kōtare are admired for the way they perch, without moving, while stalking and waiting for prey... then suddenly attacking in a blur of speed and colour! A good sentry was complimented by being likened to a kōtare. The word ‘Kōtare’ was also sometimes referred to as the elevated platform in a pā, used to watch out for enemies. Kōtare Facts! Te Ao Maori Kōtare Mask Have a go at making a kōtare mask over at Wildlife Watch . See if you can recreate the bright, beautiful colours that you can see on a kōtare! CRAFT - Kōtare Mask Click the image to download the PDF sheet! Kōtare Facts! Kōtare like to live all over NZ in both coastal and inland freshwater habitats. They live in a wide range of locations including: forest, river margins, farmland, lakes, estuaries and rocky coastlines. Basically, they can be found anywhere where there is water and elevated perches for them to watch from. This is one of the reasons they like wetland areas so much. Although kōtare make nests in a lot of places, one of the neat places they will build a nest for their chicks is in the side of a bank. They dig into clay banks to clear out a hole for their nests. Sometimes, if you are careful, you can lean over the side of a bank and spot a wee kōtare chick popping its head out. Habitat Image Credit - Bruce Buckman by Bruce Buckman www.flickr.com/photos/brunonz/ ART - Draw Your Own Kōtare Draw Your Own Kōtare Have a go at drawing your own kōtare, take a close look at all the details shape, size and colour. Make sure you share your final drawing with us as we would love to see it! Click the image to download! Kōtare Facts! Ecology & Diet Their diet when living in estuarine mudflats is mainly small crabs, with a range of tadpoles, freshwater crayfish and small fish in freshwater habitats. When living in open country they eat insects, spiders, lizards, mice and small birds. Image Credit - dalous p. GAMES - Beak Test Game Grab a few items and have a go at the Beak Test game. Learn about the diffrent types of beaks and how they . Beak Test Game Birds have lots of different beak shapes, have a go at picking up items with some different beak shapes. Can you guess why the kōtare has a larger beak? If you give this game a go with your class or some friends we would love to hear all about it! Click the image to download the PDF sheet! Image Credit - Eugene Polkan via NZ Birds Online Did you know that you will very rarely see more than two kōtare together? Kōtare are mostly solitary and prefer to hang out by themselves or occasionally in pairs. If you see more than two kōtare together, you can almost guarantee it is breeding season. Kōtare don't build nests like other birds; they prefer to hollow out areas to nest in. Places like trees, banks or even the side of a cliff are prime real estate for kōtare. The female kōtare repeatedly flies at a site using her bill to create a hole. Once there is enough space to perch on, she continues to hollow out the area with her bill until she has an area large enough to lay her eggs. A female kōtare will lay 4 to 7 eggs at once and she will often have 2 or 3 broods a year! Kōtare Facts! Breeding ACTIVITY - Test Your Knowledge Test your knowledge - Species Quiz Have a go at testing what you have learnt about the kōtare/kingfisher. Click on the image below to download the quiz as a PDF and write in your answers! Click the image to download the quiz! Click the Kōtare to download the answers. Kōtare Facts! Crazy Facts! Have you ever wondered what a kōtare sounds like? Maybe you have heard them in your backyard but not realized it! Click this link to go a video of a kōtare call - let us know if you have ever heard one at home. Maybe you could head to a local wetland or area in your backyard where you can try and hear one for your self. CLICK THE LINK BELOW: Kingfisher Bird Call ~ bird song - YouTube Image Credit - Brian Anderson, BaPhotographic Other Kōtare/Kingfisher Resources Below you will find links to other Kōtare / Kingfisher resources, click the images to take you to the websites. Check them out! The Adventures of Hutu & Kawa by Avis Acres Kotare Birds of NZ Activity Pack by Green Grubs DOC - Toyota Kiwi Guardian Activity Have a go at a Garden Bird Survey! 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 "Garden Bird Survey " activity instructions! Help to find out what species you have in your backyard!! Click the image to download a PDF Instruction sheet to carry out a Garden Bird Survey. Image Credit - Antonia O'Donnell The kōtare faces several threats including cats, possums and even windows. Kōtare, like many other birds, can accidentally fly into glass windows and suffering injuries, being stunned or even sadly breaking their necks. Don't worry, though, there are some simple things you can do to help our beautiful kōtare! Kōtare Facts! Threats Kōtare Facts! What YOU can do! There are some simple things you can do to help protect our kōtare. If you own a cat, keep it well feed and inside the house at night. Put a bell on its collar to help alert our kōtare, and other birds, to the cat's presence. Kōtare can accidentally fly into windows as they may not realise the window is there as they are clear. You can help make the window stand out by putting reflective stickers on them - you can have fun making some of your own with our instructions below! Image Credit - Antonia O'Donnell Visit a Kōtare - Kingfisher If you want to try and spot a kōtare in your own region, head to any local wetland, lagoon or coastal area to see if you can spot them. Better yet, keep your eyes peeled, even in your own neighbourhood, up trees and on powerlines. You never know what you might see or when you might spot one! If you live in the Marlborough region you could go check out the Wairau Lagoon or Grovetown Lagoon. Click the images below to find out more information. Wairau Lagoons Kōtare - Kingfisher Gallery Images from some of our Kōtare events 2024 World Wetland Day - Kōtare Event 2023 World Wetland Day - Kōtare Event