Search

The amazing range of Pacific arts in New Zealand was celebrated tonight at an award ceremony in Wellington.

Minister for Pacific Peoples Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga congratulated all the winners of the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards 2014.

“These awards acknowledge the excellence and innovation in Pacific arts in New Zealand,” says Mr Lotu-Iiga. “They are the only national awards to recognise Pacific artists across a range of art forms.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has cast her vote for the little blue penguin in Forest & Bird’s Seabird of the Year 2014.

“All of our marvellous seabirds deserve a vote but I’ve chosen to back the little blue. Although it’s the most common penguin around our coastlines, the species is in gradual decline,” says Ms Barry.

This year the annual poll to select New Zealand’s favourite bird is focusing on seabirds. Nearly half of the species that breed in New Zealand are in danger of becoming extinct.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated the winners of the inaugural Conservation Innovation Awards.

The World Wildlife Fund Conservation Innovation Awards were presented at a ceremony in Wellington last night. The awards recognise innovative approaches to conservation issues.

Ms Barry presented the inaugural award to inventor Gian Badraun and Microsystems Research for their product ‘Trap Minder’, an early response system for monitoring predator traps and bait stations.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the start of Conservation Week, which this year has a theme of “Discover the world where you live.”

Conservation Week 2014 runs until 9^th November. There are more than 150 events planned nationwide, ranging from beach clean ups and special guided night walks, to training dogs to stay away from kiwi and native snail monitoring.

Many of the events are designed to be opportunities for people to take a behind-the-scenes look at projects in their local area and to learn more about conservation.