What's On at Zealandia

What plant has no leaves or stems? Pua o te Rēinga/Dactylanthus taylorii!

Pua o te Rēinga is New Zealand’s only endemic (unique to NZ) plant that is fully parasitic. Unlike most plants that use photosynthesis for energy, it gets its energy by attaching to the root of a host tree and taking nutrients from it. The host root then develops a flared surface that the pua o te Rēinga can grow around. The tree is not harmed in this process, and both species are able to coexist together.

How do we monitor wildlife that we can’t always see, particularly in water? The answer is environmental DNA (eDNA).  This process works by collecting water samples that get tested for trace elements of DNA left by the species living in the habitat. By gaining a better picture of what lives where, we can start to understand how we might create a healthier environment.

Matariki is approaching and provides a great opportunity to reflect on the past year. ZEALANDIA has had many significant conservation achievements and we have chosen three to share with you.  

My blinkers have been removed.  

Until recently, my love for and commitment to Zealandia has largely been focused inside the fence. Sure, I knew about the halo effect: how kākā are now all over Wellington, how tīeke are nesting in Polhill Gully, how kererū and kākāriki frequent Karori, how tūī are a common sight and sound in our gardens. 

And I had heard of Sanctuary to Sea, with a vague understanding that it was about the Kaiwharawhara Stream. 

Now that my blinkers are off, a whole new perspective has opened up for me. With the Sanctuary to Sea project, Zealandia’s ‘Living with Nature’ kaupapa has embraced an aspirational and transformative focus beyond the fence. 

Spending time in nature helps people feel better, and becoming involved in a local trapping group can give your health an even bigger boost, new research from Zealandia’s Centre for People and Nature shows.

 

Around 100 years ago, eminent NZ entomologist George Vernon Hudson worked extensively in the Karori region to create a comprehensive list of moths and butterflies that could be found in the Wellington region.

Now, the Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Entomology Society have embarked on a whāinga/mission, in partnership with ZEALANDIA, to develop a current list of moths (Lepidoptera) in the northern end of the valley.

Work is picking up steam in ZEALANDIA’s Centre for People and Nature, with around 80 people  national and internal research projects and collaborations now underway. 

Launched last year, the Centre leads and facilitates research on how to enhance the role of nature in cities. Researchers across areas of health and wellbeing, the science of nature, and connecting people and nature, are drawing on the ZEALANDIA sanctuary, the green heart and living laboratory of Wellington. 

Wellington’s Kaiwharawhara Stream might be polluted now, but citizen scientists are helping restore it to health.  

In a recent survey of the stream’s estuary by Sustainable Coastlines, 2400 pieces of mostly plastic rubbish, were collected and analysed by volunteers. Coastal clean-ups, such as those coordinated by Sustainable Coastlines, have inspired the Kaiwharawhara Catchment Plastics Project, led by Dr Amanda Valois of NIWA. 

Our native fish are among the hidden treasures of New Zealand’s animal life because they are seldom seen. Yet the Kaiwharawhara Stream catchment is known to have 13 species of fish out of the 21 in the Wellington Region. 

‘Sanctuary to Sea/Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara’, a multi-stakeholder restoration project co-ordinated by ZEALANDIA staff, aims to improve fish habitats throughout this important catchment. Beginning within the ZEALANDIA sanctuary, the catchment is the largest in Wellington city, covering over 16 square kilometres.  

A team from Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) came to ZEALANDIA on 2 April to set one of the regional State of the Environment (SoE) monitoring plots. GWRC Terrestrial Biodiversity SoE monitoring programme aims to monitor the state of biodiversity, pressure by weeds and animal pests and effectiveness of pest management.