Kiwi Conservation Club
For over 20 years the Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC), junior Forest & Bird, has been teaching Kiwi kids about New Zealand’s wildlife and wild places.
KCC now has over 16,000 members throughout New Zealand who receive our Wild Things magazine. Written by Ann Graeme with cartoon-like illustrations by Tim Galloway, the Wild Things magazines make topics like - wild rivers, marine reserves and worms - fun for kids.
In most places around New Zealand, volunteer KCC Coordinators also arrange adventures for KCC members to explore their local beaches, forests and everywhere in between.Some clubs also get involved in local conservation projects like tree planting, creating lizard gardens or making nesting boxes for little blue penguins.Join in the fun and help us teach the next generation about protecting or wildlife and wild places.
Sustainable Home and Garden Show 2012
Written by John McNaughton aged 12
On 24 March, the Kapiti Kiwi Conservation Club ran a small exhibition about NZ native bats at the annual Sustainable Living fair in Paraparaumu, Kapiti coast.
Children and adults of all ages and nationalities called by. Even Te Radar came to visit.
How local? The Maori word for bat is Pekapeka.
There are two native NZ bats: the long-tailed bat and the lesser short-tailed bat.
The greater short-tailed bat is now extinct.
The long-tailed bat is found on Kapiti Island as well as Stewart Island, Little Barrier and Great Barrier islands.
Bats used to be plentiful in New Zealand but are now endangered. Loss of native forest and predators such as stoats, rats, possums and cats are the main reasons for this.
Visitors to the KCC exhibition could colour-in a bat and/or make a bat mobile and/or do a quiz in their age group. It was a great opportunity for adults and kids alike to learn about our only native land mammal. The finished quizzes went into a draw to win a $30 book token. It was lots of fun and we learned a lot about bats!
Antarctic Trip
Written by Christopher & James Matheson
My Mum and Dad, my brother and I went on a KCC trip to the Victoria University Antarctic Research Centre .We saw lots of rocks, one was a fossilised tree. I asked one of the guides why there were trees in the Antarctic. She said, “That’s because the Antarctic wasn’t always at the South Pole, it was connected to Gondwanaland”. When Christopher put on some Antarctic weather gear he looked a bit like a yellow snow man, and then my dad put on the jacket (it fitted him quite a lot better).
In the corner of the room there was a big, black-brown tent. It was triangular in shape with a small circular hole down low in the side. After you crawl inside it feels very small, cramped, and very dark. This particular tent would typically have a separate ground sheet but most modern tents have in-built floors. See also
Happy Feet
Here's Happy Feet, our friendly Emperor Penguin during his stay on Peka Peka beach after his long swim from Antarctica. The good news is that he is getting better at Wellington Zoo. More Photos You can find out more about Happy Feet at blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2011/06/23/the-global-penguin-part-1-how-a-lone-emperor-ventured-into-superstardom/ .
Our trip to Mana Estuary 2011
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Written by Esther , David and Joseph Sushames
On the 16th of April we went to Mana Estuary.
Esther (Aged 12): The marine biologists Rich Ford and Michelle Beritzhoff taught us about shellfish and other estuary creatures. It was like, raining. We learned about crabs and cockles. I already knew that crabs were cannibals.
David (Aged 10): I saw the ray pits where the rays dig in the sand and find things to eat. We dug up the sand and sieved it and found a whole lot of crabs and cockles.
Joseph: (Aged 6): I liked the crabs because they were little and cute. Someone found a jellyfish. It didn’t matter that it was raining. We all got to use our new gumboots. I had waterproof trousers too so the water didn’t get into my gumboots straight away.More Pictures
Nga Ura Ora 2011
Written by Joshua Stewart aged 12 (seen here removing a thistle)
On the 28th May, Greater Wellington KCC went to an eco-site with Nga Ura Ora for a great afternoon of tree planting and seed gathering. First of all we climbed a hill. After a quick karakia in English from Annie, we looked at young trees and found our favourite tree. Mine was a adolescent five finger. We then regrouped and walked further up the hill and buried two dead blackbirds called Jimmy Harry and Joshua. Then I dug holes and the other kids planted young kawakawas in them. Also we all collected seeds from a karamu tree. After that we drank some kawakawa tea made by Annie. I had a great afternoon. More Pictures
Click here for Kiwi Conservation Club Website
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