Tuesday 22nd May is the first Dune Day as part of our Dune Buddies partnership between DOC and MBAS. Students will learn about the importance of our dune systems, their ecology and how they can contribute to conservation by joining the “War on Weeds”.
Monitoring
The dunes have been divided into 12 sections. Each dune day (3 in total for 2017) the focus will be on 4 sections. There will be 4 groups each assigned to one section and working simultaneously. Each section contains a randomised transect. Students will work along these transects and conduct survey plots, recording the presence/absence of 6 key species within these plots.
Activity Value
The Otama Beach dune system is of national significance. Coastal sand dunes are a dynamic, living ecosystem and home to unique plants, animals and insects that have adapted to this constantly changing environment. Around 90% of New Zealand’s dune lands have disappeared. Human activity has seen New Zealand’s sand dunes developed, burned for farm land, planted with exotics, turned into forestry blocks, bulldozed for baches, trampled on, driven over and damaged by introduced animals. Introduced, exotic plants can colonise the sand dunes and disrupt this dynamic natural process.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) Stretch Goal is for 90% of New Zealanders lives to be enriched through connection to our nature. DOC seeks to achieve this in part by “harnessing partnership opportunities with potential to transform outcomes for natural heritage, historic heritage and recreation”.
This activity will seek to develop an on-going programme which strengthens the partnership with MBAS. The activity will seek to “develop tools for reporting partner contribution to conservation” in line with DOCs Intermediate Outcome Objectives. This ensures that our partners contributions are valued and the benefit to the ecological integrity of Otama Dunes is quantifiable.
DOC will gain: a quantifiable improvement to the ecological integrity of the Otama Dune System. Connect a greater number of the local community with local conservation issues, enable more conservation to be achieved by others.
MBAS will gain: a rewarding opportunity to connect with nature and will be able to clearly see how their contributions have the potential to transform our natural heritage. An understanding of the coastal dune ecosystem
Monitoring
The dunes have been divided into 12 sections. Each dune day (3 in total for 2017) the focus will be on 4 sections. There will be 4 groups each assigned to one section and working simultaneously. Each section contains a randomised transect. Students will work along these transects and conduct survey plots, recording the presence/absence of 6 key species within these plots.
Activity Value
The Otama Beach dune system is of national significance. Coastal sand dunes are a dynamic, living ecosystem and home to unique plants, animals and insects that have adapted to this constantly changing environment. Around 90% of New Zealand’s dune lands have disappeared. Human activity has seen New Zealand’s sand dunes developed, burned for farm land, planted with exotics, turned into forestry blocks, bulldozed for baches, trampled on, driven over and damaged by introduced animals. Introduced, exotic plants can colonise the sand dunes and disrupt this dynamic natural process.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) Stretch Goal is for 90% of New Zealanders lives to be enriched through connection to our nature. DOC seeks to achieve this in part by “harnessing partnership opportunities with potential to transform outcomes for natural heritage, historic heritage and recreation”.
This activity will seek to develop an on-going programme which strengthens the partnership with MBAS. The activity will seek to “develop tools for reporting partner contribution to conservation” in line with DOCs Intermediate Outcome Objectives. This ensures that our partners contributions are valued and the benefit to the ecological integrity of Otama Dunes is quantifiable.
DOC will gain: a quantifiable improvement to the ecological integrity of the Otama Dune System. Connect a greater number of the local community with local conservation issues, enable more conservation to be achieved by others.
MBAS will gain: a rewarding opportunity to connect with nature and will be able to clearly see how their contributions have the potential to transform our natural heritage. An understanding of the coastal dune ecosystem