Marlborough conservation groups
Introduction
Get involved with conservation groups working with DOC in Marlborough.Listed below are some volunteer based groups that you can get involved with. You'll learn new skills, meet like-minded people, contribute to conservation, and increase your connection to your local community and natural spaces.
For more conservation volunteer opportunities in Marlborough:
Endeavour Inlet Conservation Trust
Aim: We are a community-driven initiative creating and supporting conservation projects in the hills surrounding Endeavour Inlet in the Queen Charlotte Sound. Our aims are to protect and enhance the natural ecosystems and heritage values of Endeavour Inlet and the surrounding areas for the benefit of the community, visitors and the public. Get in touch if you are interested in helping us continue our eradication, restoration and communication projects.
Contact: endeavourconservation@gmail.com
Endeavour Inlet Conservation Trust website
Forest & Bird’s Ronga Reserve restoration planting
Aim: Ronga Reserve is a little-known reserve with giant podocarps. It is known to host long-tailed bats. Over the last 10 years Forest & Bird branches, along with Nelson/Tasman Weedbusters and DOC, have been clearing weeds and planting trees. They will be undertaking some predator monitoring to inform future control. Volunteers can get involved in regular working bees to help keep our planting in tip-top condition.
Contact: m.noffke@forestandbird.org.nz
Forest & Bird's Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project
Aim: To protect long-tailed bats and other wildlife at Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve by trapping predators. Volunteers are needed to check trap lines.
Contact: Jenny Eason jennym.easton@gmail.com
Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project on Nature Space website
Grovetown Lagoon Restoration Project
Aim: To restore the Grovetown Lagoon to enhance the habitat for fish and bird life, and to enable gathering of food and encourage recreational uses. Volunteers can get involved in working bees.
Grovetown Lagoon Restoration Project website
Kaipupu Sanctuary
Aim: Kaipupu Sanctuary is a 40-hectare mainland island which has a predator-proof fence separating it from the mainland. Our aim is to manage and maintain the Kaipupu Sanctuary in Picton Harbour as a safe haven for native wildlife. Volunteer roles include: trapping, monitoring, weeding invasive species, education with local schools, general maintenance and guiding visitors through the sanctuary.
Contact: kaipupupestmonitoring@gmail.com
Kaipupu Point Sounds Wildlife Sanctuary website
Koru Native Wildlife Centre
Aim: This wildlife centre has recently located to Grovetown. At the centre they breed kākāriki for release and hold giant wētā and geckos for viewing. If you are keen to volunteer and help with the care of the centre, they would like to hear from you.
Contact: Ellen Plaisier, info@koruwildlife.nz
Pest-free Ngakuta Bay
Aim: Ngakuta Bay Community Association undertakes weed control, predator trapping, planting, bird counts and wetland restoration in Ngakuta Bay and over into Momorangi Bay. Our aim is to create a pest-free Ngakuta Bay, in order to bring back the bird life and restore the area. We are a small group of reliable and dedicated volunteers. Volunteers can get involved with trapping, bird counts and wetland restoration days.
Contact: draganz2001@gmail.com
Picton Dawn Chorus
Aim: Picton Dawn Chorus is committed to using humane and environmentally sensitive methods of predator control, with the aim of restoring our native bird life by controlling introduced predators in and around Picton. We have lots of different ways in which you can volunteer. From being out in the bush to building boxes, your skills will be put to good use.
Contact: volunteering@pictondawnchorus.nz
Pine Valley trapping
Aim: Pest traps have been laid in the Mill Flat area in a joint project between Pine Valley Outdoor Centre and the children of Marlborough to bring back native birds to the area and to help our community to learn more about the pest species. We are always looking for keen volunteers to check the trap lines and to help keep everything in tip-top shape for visiting school groups.
Contact: Talia Burton-Walker, Pine Valley Outdoor Centre admin@pvoc.co.nz
Tennyson Inlet Islands Trust
Aim: The unoccupied Tennyson Inlet Islands are located in the head waters of the Pelorus Sound. Our focus is to eradicate pests from these islands so that the bird life and other species can once again flourish. By eliminating most pest competition, it is our intention to restore these islands as an ecological refuge from which adjoining areas can be repopulated. Regular volunteers carry out important work on the island, including maintaining and improving the tracks, servicing and replenishing traps, working on penguin and wētā boxes and counting birds. Let us know if you are interested in being involved in a future working bee.
Contact: berylarcher@xtra.co.nz