Orokonui Ecosanctuary, called Te Korowai o Mihiwaka in Māori,Orokonui EcoSanctuary Resource Consents Application and AEE is an ecological island wildlife reserve developed by the Otago Natural History Trust in the Orokonui Valley between Waitati and Pūrākaunui, New Zealand, to the north of central Dunedin.
History and planning
Formation of the trust
The idea of a sanctuary near Dunedin was first discussed in 1982 by New Zealand cartoonist Burton Silver and a few friends.'The undefeated champion of a wildlife haven', p28, Otago Daily Times The group made a proposal in July 1983 to convert a Dunedin fertiliser factory into a giant aviary.'Aviary idea for acid house' p1, Otago Daily Times 19 July 1983 The proposal was later abandoned'Aviary proposal abandoned' p1, Otago Daily Times 24 August 1983 but inspired the formation in August 1983 of a charitable trust, the Otago Natural History Trust.'Natural history trust formed' p4, Otago Daily Times 8 August 1983 Their initial proposal for a sanctuary at Orokonui lapsed and the group disbanded for a while until 1995, when the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary opened in Wellington. This gave the idea renewed impetus and a remaining trust member, Ralph Allen revived the proposal. The local Maori Runaka, Kati Huirapa of Puketeraki became supporters of the trust.
Site
The Ecosanctuary is in a north-facing valley comprising about of regenerating native forest. The trust gained the use of the Orokonui Conservation Area north of central Dunedin. The New Zealand Department of Conservation approved the trust's use of the land'Bringing back the natives', p14, Otago Daily Times and completed a heads of agreement and the Orokonui site was visited on 27 April 2006 by Chris Carter, the New Zealand Minister of Conservation. The trust purchased and added a further of adjacent land to the Conservation Area. The donation of from an adjacent landowner extended the proposed Ecosanctuary area by 20%.
In May 2007, the trust announced that the sanctuary might expand in future onto adjacent public land.
Fundraising A fundraising appeal was launched in November 2005.'Orokonui appeal takes flight', p1, Otago Daily Times, 3 November 2005 The trust ran two public fundraising campaigns in 2006-2007: the public were urged to donate their soon-to-be-withdrawn New Zealand 5-cent coins while a "sponsor a fencepost" campaign was run in conjunction with the Otago Daily Times newspaper.
The trust also has a number of mostly Dunedin-based businesses and charities as sponsors.'$200,000 grant for Orokonui sanctuary', p10 Otago Daily Times 21 August 2006 The major funders are a local gambling organisation'$1m grant for ecosanctuary', p1 Otago Daily Times 12 April 2006 and the Otago Regional Council.'Eco-sanctuary given $1 million boost by regional council', p1, Otago Daily Times 16 March 2006
Construction and development
Enclosure In December 2006 work started on building a long specialised pest-exclusion fence, to enclose of regenerating forest. The high fence is designed to keep out all introduced mammals such as cats, possums, rats, stoats, ferrets and even mice. It uses stainless steel mesh that continues down to form a skirt at ground level that prevents animals from burrowing under it. On the top is a curved steel hood that prevents climbing animals like cats and possums from climbing over the top.
Waterways are protected by screened culverts nicknamed "watergates", while pedestrian access is by airlock style double gates.
In February 2007, a donation of a further from an adjacent landowner increased the planned length of fence by . The additional land was mainly pine plantation but considered to be of benefit as the trees when felled would give a good habitat for huhu grubs, an important food source for kākā.
Earthworks for the fence were finished in May 2007. The fence was completed and the sanctuary officially "closed" on 3 July 2007 in the presence of the Waitati Militia.
Pest eradication Pest eradication commenced in August 2007 with shooting of goats and 800 possums by ground-based teams. This was immediately followed by the scattering from aircraft of bait poisoned with brodifacoum into the fenced area. The trust's consent application states that when the valley is free of pests, the health of the forest will improve, leading to an increase in seedlings, flowers, seeds, invertebrates and thus increased food supply to birds (p4). There is some evidence that forest health is improving.Andrew J. Tanentzap, Kelvin M.Lloyd, "Fencing in nature? Predator exclusion restores habitat for native fauna and leads biodiversity to spill over into the wider landscape", Biological Conservation, 2017
Habitat improvement Other work involves planting of native seedlings raised at a nearby tree nursery and piling up rocks to create habitats for lizards.
Species introduction
The trust plans to "bring back to the ecosanctuary native species that would have been there in times past" including kiwi, seabirds, kākāriki, South Island robin, South Island saddleback, kākā, native bats, tuatara and jewelled gecko. In July 2007, four South Island kākā arrived. Initially housed in an aviary, these were the first animals to be introduced to the Ecosanctuary.'Kaka introduced to Orokonui', p5, Otago Daily Times, 21 July 2007, also readable on orokonui.org.nz Pūkeko and paradise duck have self-introduced since enclosure and habitat works. Fifteen tuatara were moved from the University of Otago in March 2009, and 34 South Island saddleback were introduced to the sanctuary the following month."Tieke released In Orokonui Ecosanctuary ". Channel 9 Online, retrieved 2009-05-01.
The Ecosanctuary is also home to a breeding pair of South Island takahē, Quammen and Paku.
Visitor facilities The promoters of the sanctuary anticipate 25,000 visitors per year.'25,000 visitors aim', p4, Otago Daily Times, 12 September 2007 Following considerable debate they chose a site at the top of the valley system for visitor facilities, for its potential to attract visitors, its access and perceived low costs and "benefits for management of both ecology and visitors". Here they built a NZD1.9 million visitor and education centre which they label as being a "showpiece of environmentally sustainable design".'Fundraising Vital for the Orokonui Ecosanctuary', Otago Daily Times, 4 February 2008, also readable on orokonui.org.nz
The chosen site "is on a road that is likely to become part of the Southern Scenic Route, with relatively slow-moving traffic that will be able to see the visitor centre and stop to investigate", with road links to Port Chalmers, Waitati, Dunedin and State Highway 1.
Land history The Orokonui Valley was once part of a school, Orakanui College.See Leading Article, Otago Daily Times, 28 September 1878, Page 2, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18780928.2.8?end_date=31-12-1883&items_per_page=10&page=2&query=Orakanui&snippet=true&sort_by=byDA&start_date=01-01-1865 Later, after closure, the grounds were acquired by the Government as an "inebriates' home.""Brevities," Evening Star, May 18th, 1901, 1. They were subsequently cut-over and grazed, and partially planted in Eucalyptus regnans, one of which is New Zealand's tallest measured tree, the "Frank Pepers Tree". The former school and rehab property was divided. The agricultural land was vested in Landcorp and the major part of the land was managed as the Orokonui Conservation Area by DOC.
References
External links Otago Natural History Trust - administrators of the Orokonui Ecosanctuary