Jamie McAulay talking about Kiwi
Last night’s guest speaker was Jamie McAulay, son of President-elect Bill, who Zoomed in from his home in Te Anau.
Jamie works for DoC as a Biodiversity ranger, a job that he thoroughly enjoys. It involves a lot of fieldwork in remote parts of Fiordland, in rugged bush country. The mission is to ‘save the iconic kiwi’ and the target is a 2% annual growth in the kiwi population.
This is proving difficult because of predation, mainly by the dreaded stoat. In fact, over the last three years, none of the kiwi chicks hatched in Jamie’s area of study have survived.
Jamie’s team uses tiny radio transmitters and trail cameras to keep track of adult and young kiwis, and the stoats, possums, and keas that harass them.
Chicks hatch around August after 80 days incubation, but can’t defend themselves until they are 20 weeks old.
The solution is predator control. Trapping is not viable in such steep country, but 1080 poison drops are effective when the weather allows. These are done by helicopters using GPS for targeting.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.3% Yes
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15.2% No
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2.6% Other - I'll share below
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