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Conservation Minister Maggie Barry and Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner have presented traps to two community groups at a Predator Free 2050 event in Christchurch today.

Abel Tasman and Kahurangi national parks are now connected by a 169-hectare block of land purchased by the Nature Heritage Fund, Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner announced today.

Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner and Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith today launched a new strategy and action plan to better equip New Zealanders, especially children and young people, with the knowledge, skills and motivation to tackle environmental issues.

Mātauranga Whakauka Taio – Environment Education for Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan sets out how government agencies will work together over the next 10 years to better support the delivery of environmental education.

Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner today announced three appointments and two reappointments to the Nature Heritage Fund Committee.

Jan Riddell (Winton) and Dr Gerry McSweeney (South Westland) have been reappointed to the Committee for two years.

“As a Committee member since 2001, Ms Riddell brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience to table, so it’s my pleasure to announce she has also been appointed Chairperson,” Ms Wagner says.

A highly successful Hawke’s Bay stream restoration project has taken out the top prize at the 2017 Green Ribbon Awards, announced tonight by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner.

“My congratulations to the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group for winning the 2017 Supreme Green Ribbon Award. This team effort over seven years involving iwi, councils and landowners has achieved significant improvements in water quality in the Whangawehi River and in protecting native plants and animals,” Dr Smith says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry and Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner have announced a major upgrade and extension to the trap network in Canterbury to protect the critically endangered orange-fronted parakeet.

“This bird is the rarest of our five parakeet species, with the population between 200 and 400, so we installed 500 self-resetting traps in Lake Sumner Forest Park last week as part of DOC’s Battle for our Birds programme,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed plans by the Kiwis for Kiwi Trust to boost the number of kiwi chicks captured in the wild for later release in to predator free habitats.

“Through Operation Nest Egg the Trust will use kiwi crèches or kōhanga kiwi sites to raise chicks to 1 kilogram in weight so they are big enough to fend for themselves in the wild,” Ms Barry says.

Four ambitious conservation projects in Canterbury have received $137,000 in support from the DOC Community Fund, Conservation Ministers Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner have announced.

The projects range from wilding conifer control to protecting and promoting indigenous vegetation, the Ministers say.

“Each of the groups is playing an important role in eliminating weeds and restoring biodiversity in the Canterbury region,” Ms Barry says.

Four ambitious conservation projects in Otago have received $263,000 in support from the DOC Community Fund, Conservation Ministers Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner have announced.

The projects range from restoring wetland of ecological value to eradicating pests, the Ministers say.

“Each of the groups is playing an important role in protecting threatened bird species and enhancing ecosystems around the Otago Peninsula,” Ms Barry says.

Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner says a recent acquisition by the Nature Heritage Fund (NHF) will protect 14 ha of rare coastal forest in South Westland.

“The land represents one of the four National Priorities for Protection. There are significant quantities of mature rimu and kahikatea within the forest and its acquisition protects one of the few remaining blocks of intact podocarp-hardwood forest on fertile coastal plains south of Hokitika,” Ms Wagner says.