Have you ever noticed how kōtukutuku - our native tree fuchsia (Fuchsia excorticata) - produces flowers of two different colours? This is because it colour-codes its petals to allow for maximum pollination efficiency.

Do you know your tutu from your supplejack?

You’d be wise not to eat any asparagus-like shoots in the bush if you’re not sure!

In 2014 tramper Matthew Pike found this out the hard way after adding what he thought was a supplejack sapling to his boil-up, only to find – when he woke up in hospital – that he’d seasoned his dinner with the notorious tutu: a poisonous plant full of the neurotoxin tutin. Matthew’s reaction was so severe that his convulsions dislocated his shoulder; he was lucky to survive.

Alfie Kākā here, enjoying a warm Sunday morning at Zealandia. We kākā have had millions of years to get used to this place, and the local saying “you can’t beat the valley on a good day” has never been more true.

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that to be a kākā monitor you need patience, focus, dedication, a sense of humour and reliable waterproofs.

Swamps, marshes, fens and bogs.  These are our wetland areas, crucial buffer zones at the boundaries between land and water. Wetlands act as giant sponges in the landscape, soaking up rainfall which helps prevent flooding during storms. They also help protect rivers and lakes from runoff from the land during heavy rain by trapping sediment that can choke a stream and absorbing surplus nutrients like nitrogen that can lead to the explosion of algal blooms.  Wetlands are a toxin sink, storing environmental pollutants as well as nitrogen and carbon in its wet, airless soil and in the deep roots of the plants that grow there.

Katie Sheridan is studying Pateke (Brown Teal) at ZEALANDIA. While she was looking for the elusive ducks in the wetlands, our “eye in the sky” Alfie Kaka caught up with her in the wetlands to find out more about what she has been up to…

Alfie here! Today I’m chatting to Eleanor Burton about bird friendly native plants, and especially our native fuchsia. Eleanor is in charge of the collections database at Otari, and is also an arborist, botanist, and botanical illustrator.

Alfie here, and today I’m talking about another bird-friendly plant in Wellington, and interviewing long time Zealandia volunteer guide, and conservationist, Des Smith.  I flew up to meet him in his garden in Ngaio, in a bush-lined street, full of native trees.  Here’s the transcript, from my ‘Stoatskine’ reporter’s notebook.

Alfie here, and this week, I’m interviewing Matu Booth, Conservation Officer in the valley, and a recently elected member of the Karori Sanctuary Guardians. I want to find out which plant he recommends for attracting birds in to Wellington gardens.

Alfie: I’m inspired by Kerry Charles’ research on how planting for birds makes Wellingtonians happy, so I’m asking some of my favourite locals about which plants they’d recommend for Wellington gardens. First up, Joakim Liman, an award-winning Zealandia volunteer and the dedicated and enthusiastic manager of the volunteer Te Motu Kairangi – Miramar Ecological Restoration group, which is restoring the Miramar peninsula to its former glory.