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National Biosecurity Award for Landowner-Led Project

National biosecurity award for landowner-led Canterbury project

The Wildside Project, a grassroots biodiversity project which protects white-flippered little blue penguins, yellow-eyed penguins and titi (sooty shearwater) across 13,500 hectares on Banks Peninsula, has won the Community Award at the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards.

The awards recognise people and organisations making an important contribution to New Zealand’s biosecurity.

The Wildside Project is coordinated by the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust in partnership with Environment Canterbury, the Department of Conservation and the Christchurch City Council.

It is potentially the longest-running landowner driven predator control project in the country, launched 30years ago to control stoats, ferrets, possums and wild cats after landowners noticed a decline in penguin numbers. The project’s operation, which includes 750 traps and now also targets goat and feral deer, covers 7000 hectares (of the 13,500ha total area), across 10 bays and more than 25 farms.

The area also now has only three of the “dirty dozen” weeds (wilding pines, banana passionfruit and old man’s beard) and in very low numbers.

Banks Peninsular Conservation Trust Chairman Mark Christensen says biosecurity has become an essential and normal part of the community and its activities.

“The farmers and landowners did not wait to be told what to do by an external agency, they actively managed the risk and continue to do so. This award recognises many years of quiet hard work and perseverance by a community of farmers who highly value the taonga that is our natural environment and undertake biosecurity for both biodiversity and economic reasons.

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“The Wildside is an example of how collaboration across multiple perspectives from conservationist to farmer to government agency can work in harmony to protect our special natural environment.”

Mr Christensen says Environment Canterbury is looking at using the Wildside Project as a test case for introducing new biosecurity ideas and control techniques.


ENDS


Wildside Biodiversity activity includes:

• Covenanting via the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust

• Stream protection from stock damage through fencing

• ecosystem and production health through possum control to 2%RTC across 5000ha’s

• biodiversity protection through the long-term suppression of ferrets, weasels, stoats and feral cats across 7000ha’s

• forest bird health through rat control in high value covenants

• total removal of feral goats for conservation across the whole Wildside range of 13,500ha’s

• targeted control of feral deer for conservation protection;

• active control of wilding pines, sycamore, old man’s beard and banana passionfruit;

• ongoing and sustained control of pastoral weeds.


NEW ZEALAND BIOSECURITY AWARDS 2017

The New Zealand Biosecurity Awards aim to recognise and celebrate people and organisations who are making important contributions to New Zealand’s biosecurity. This could be through engaging in innovation, science, communities or leadership in support of ensuring the success and continuous improvement of New Zealand’s biosecurity system. The Awards support the objective in the biosecurity 2025 Direction Statement to build a biosecurity team of 4.7 million New Zealanders – all playing their part to protect our taonga and ensure our biosecurity system remains resilient and effective. These awards will recognise the efforts of people across New Zealand who are doing their bit for biosecurity every day, and they aim to encourage others to do the same. All winners (or a representative of winning organisations) will be invited to attend an awards ceremony on Wednesday 2 August at Parliament Buildings in Wellington with the Minister for Primary Industries, Hon. Nathan Guy.

WHAT IS BIOSECURITY?

Biosecurity is the exclusion, eradication or management of pests and diseases that pose a risk to the economy, environment, cultural and social values, including human health. It is all about protecting our taonga, the things that we value – and it is a key part of being a New Zealander.

Categories: Government, Industry, Iwi, Community, Ministers Biosecurity Award (Individual 10 years outstanding contribution) and Supreme Award (from five finalists).

Community Award

• A cash prize of $2,500

• A trophy and certificate

• Acknowledgement in the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards booklet.

COMMUNITY AWARD

Open to individuals and groups including schools, community groups and sporting groups. Recognises those who:

• have been committed to a project or body of work that supports biosecurity in New Zealand (within the last five years)

• work collaboratively within their community to share the message that biosecurity is the shared responsibility of all New Zealanders

• show leadership and support in assisting in the protection of New Zealand’s natural environment and native species


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