Kea Conservation Trust

The Kea Conservation Trust is a New Zealand conservation non-governmental organization working to protect kea, a large alpine parrot found only in the South Island of New Zealand.[1]

"Keep our kea safe" information board mounted on a concrete block.
An information board located at Deaths Corner (Otira Viaduct lookout) put in place by the Kea Conservation Trust.

History

The Kea Conservation Trust was incorporated in 2006 as a charitable trust, then later registered as a charity in 2008.[2] It was founded by current chairperson Tamsin Orr-Walker and three other trustees to raise money for research and to work with other community conservation groups, such as the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation.[3]

Since 2017 Peter Hillary, son of mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, has been the patron of the Trust.[4] In 2019, Orr-Walker was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to kea conservation.[5]

Activities
Photo showing an adult kea with a single eye on the railing looking over Otira Viaduct
Photo of a one-eyed kea called Tūhura ("Yellow G on Black")

The Trust's activities are diverse and include:[6][7][8][9][10]

  • Providing educational material.
  • Working with community partners including the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation to conduct kea research.
  • Monitoring threats to kea in areas such as the Mātukituki River valley, and in Fiordland.
  • Since 2017, held biennial 'Kea Summits' to provide a forum in which people can network and share knowledge on kea status, threats and conservation, as well as come up with conservation strategies.
  • Working with commercial partners such as forestry companies and ski field operators to understand more about populations of kea in the vicinity of these sites.
  • Running the Kea Database, citizen science platform where members of the public can report sightings of individual kea and look up birds based on bands on their legs.

Trustees and office holders

As of 2020 the Trust has six trustees, three appointed office-holders, a scientific advisor, two field personnel and a "kea dog" named Ajax, who was the subject of a book and short documentary film.[11][12][13]

References
  1. "Kea|Nestor Notabilis|Kea Conservation Trust NZ". Kea Conservation Trust. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. "Charities Services | Charity Summary". www.register.charities.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. Waterworth, Kerrie (23 November 2019). "Flocking together to protect parrot". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. "Kea trust has Hillary as patron". Otago Daily Times Online News. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. "Service to birds and bush recognised in New Year Honours". www.scoop.co.nz. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. "Projects". Kea Conservation Trust. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. Fiordland Wapiti Foundation Annual Report 2017/18 (PDF). Fiordland Wapiti Foundation. 2018. pp. 16–18.
  8. "Kea Database". keadatabase.nz. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  9. "Kea Database". Science Learning Hub. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  10. "Kea get a helping hand". RNZ. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  11. "Our Team". Kea Conservation Trust. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  12. Mosen, Corey. Ajax the kea dog : a working dog's life in the high country. McCloy, Nicola, 1971-. Auckland, New Zealand. ISBN 1-76063-361-5. OCLC 1052873193.
  13. "Ajax the Kea Conservation Dog". 9 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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