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Similar to Forest & Bird, 90th birthday presentation - Version 2
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Forest & Bird, 90th birthday presentation - Version 2
- 4. A plea for Kapiti Island ‘We have robbed the birds of tremendous areas of bush on the mainland. Are we not patriotic enough to give them a last secure resting place on this small island, seven miles by one mile in area, in order that our children and children’s children may see and learn what New Zealand was really like when their daring fore-fathers first set foot in this land of ours?’ Captain Val Sanderson, 1922
- 6. Original aims •To advocate and obtain the efficient protection and preservation of our native birds •A bird day for our schools •Unity of control of all wildlife
- 8. A message for all Kiwis
- 9. Nature lovers of the future
- 10. Early themes • Threats of stoats, weasels, cats and other predators • Kea and other native birds being killed as pests or for food • Importance of offshore islands as sanctuaries • A single organisation needed to protect wildlife • Value of birds protecting crops from insect plagues • Deer and possums destroying forests • Soil erosion and catchment control • Attracting birds to gardens • Oil spill dangers for seabirds
- 11. Forests as well as birds
- 12. Early milestones 1925 – Kapiti Island bird sanctuary properly administered 1930 – Government pressured to begin deer culling 1942 – Abel Tasman National Park created 1945 – Wildlife Division set up to co-ordinate management 1948 – Westland kea protected from shooting 1952 – Waipoua Kauri Forest protected 1952 – Fiordland National Park established
- 13. Closer to home
- 15. Royal seal of approval ‘The bestowal of the title is indeed an epoch-making occasion and will be remembered as one of the milestones in the history of the Society.’ Forest & Bird magazine February 1963
- 16. Manapouri
- 18. Recent milestones 1987 – Department of Conservation set up 1987 – Paparoa National Park created 1988 – Forest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation Club for children launched 1991 – Forest & Bird signs the national Forest Accord to stop native forests being logged 1995 – Marine mammal sanctuary around sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands 1996 – Kahurangi National Park established 2006 – High country parks created 2010 – National parks protected from mining 2011 – Resource consent to mine Denniston Plateau appealed 2012 – West Coast’s Mokihinui River saved from a hydro dam 2013 – Freshwater reform through the Land and Water Forum
- 19. A new generation
- 20. Broader horizons
- 21. Our strategic vision Conservation directions •Expand our advocacy for protection of nature beyond protected areas on land and at sea •Defend public protected areas •Promote conservation in urban areas •Explain the impact of climate change on NZ biodiversity •Support and advocate for an ecologically sustainable economy Organisational directions •Grow our membership and resources •Be community based with strong branches and active members •Be financially independent •Be more effective as an organisation
- 22. The next 90 years References: Birds, Forests and Natural Features of NZ by N E Dalmer Our Islands, Our Selves by David Young Birds and Forest & Bird magazines
Editor's Notes
- This is where Forest & Bird started. There’s hardly a native plant to be seen and the only animals are the sheep in the paddock. It’s not the forested Kapiti Island we celebrate today but it’s what a native bird sanctuary looked like when this photo was taken in 1921. In 1897 Kapiti Island was declared a sanctuary for native birds but the government paid lip service to restoring the island’s native forest and protecting its native birds and other wildlife.
- One Captain Val Sanderson – the good Kiwi bloke on the left – had visited Kapiti Island in 1914 and returned in 1921 to find it overrun with possums, goats and the sheep that should have been fenced on the private land at the northern tip of the island.
- Captain Sanderson – a retired businessman and war veteran – went into battle on behalf of Kapiti Island. He understood the need to get on board people of influence – including journalists and politicians – to help him achieve his aims.
- One of Captain Sanderson’s key supporters was a former prime minister of New Zealand, Sir Thomas Mackenzie. He’s the chap in the centre. (Incidentally, Sir Thomas was a great lover of New Zealand’s wilderness and explored much of Fiordland on foot.) Captain Sanderson called a public meeting in Wellington on the 28 th of March in 1923 to discuss the need for greater protection of native birds. That night the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society was created and Sir Thomas was elected president.
- Everyone at that first meeting appreciated that the problems of Kapiti Island were a microcosm of the wider troubles facing wildlife across New Zealand. For more than a century forests had been cut down for farmland and towns; settlers had drained wetlands; acclimatisation societies had introduced possums, rabbits, deer and trout for fur and sport; and stoats, weasels and ferrets had arrived in a failed attempt to control rabbits. European birds and trees were imported to re-create a new Britain. The token efforts at protecting native animals were often regional and unco-ordinated, which is why the new Society wanted unity of control of all wildlife.
- Members of the new NZ Native Bird Protection Society received letters, information sheets and reprints of newspaper articles about nature conservation. The first magazine for members appeared in 1924 – a 14-page A5 edition called Birds and labelled Bulletin No 6. The articles covered the perils of introduced pests, the urgent need to protect native forests and wildlife, the beauty of wild places and praise for conservationists. Very like today’s Forest & Bird magazine. Adult members paid five shillings (50 cents) a year to join, and it was one shilling for children.
- Captain Sanderson spread the word to all New Zealanders – Maori and Pakeha – about the wonders of our native birds through posters, radio broadcasts, slide shows and films. The Society funded the publicity programme with the proceeds from a Lucky Bird art union lottery – an early form of Lotto.
- From the late 1920s Birds magazine included a section for children. This continued for 60 years, until the Kiwi Conservation Club – with its own magazine – was launched in 1988.
- Some of the early issues Forest & Bird campaigned on have been put behind us. Kea can no longer be shot as high country pests that might or might not attack sheep. We have a single Department of Conservation that protects wildlife (though DOC now needs some protecting itself). But it’s astonishing how familiar many issues from the 1920s are today. Should we feel dejected that Forest & Bird has failed to achieve its objectives? Or would our wildlife and wider environment be in a far worse state if we hadn’t spoken up over the past 90 years?
- As early as 1927 the Society recognised the importance of habitat for native birds. In 1948 the name was formally changed to the Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand. Of course Forest & Bird has always had a wider vision for nature conservation, which has included protecting our waterways, our coastlines, our seas, our offshore islands, our high country and even the rest of the world, especially as global issues impact on New Zealand nature.
- With a growing number of members, Forest & Bird began to build an understanding of conservation issues among a wider range of New Zealanders. Some influential and hard-working Forest & Bird members contributed to important wins in the first 30 years.
- Originally Forest & Bird was run by a national elected committee, later called the Executive. The first regional representative – from Auckland – was appointed to the Executive in 1924. Branches of the Society sprang up around the country, especially during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. These were called “sections” until they became fully fledged branches. This photo shows Waikato branch members in 1956 relaxing after planting trees at Maungakawa Hill, near Cambridge.
- Getting out and enjoying nature – and educating others – has been an important part of branch activity. Here are Rangitikei branch members in 1962 before or after botanising at Bruce Park.
- During the Society’s 40 th anniversary year, the Queen granted permission for the “Royal” prefix to be used, and so we became the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand.
- Forest & Bird contributed to a growing interest in the environment by everyday New Zealanders from the 1960s. One of Forest & Bird’s greatest achievements was leading the successful campaign to stop the level of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park being raised for a hydro-electricity dam. The Society stuck with the campaign for more than a decade, and got mainstream New Zealand on board to protect the lake shorelines and wildlife. In 1970 we presented to Parliament a petition with 264,000 signatures – at the time the largest petition New Zealand had seen. With a change of government in 1972, plans for the dam were abandoned.
- The 1970s and 1980s brought a sharper edge to Forest & Bird’s campaigning, with younger members with activist experience joining the Society. Protecting the North Island native forests of Pureora and Whirinaki from logging became a focus. Here are (from left) conservation activist Stephen King, British botanist David Bellamy and Forest & Bird Executive member and botanist John Morton discussing protest action to protect Whirinaki forest. The work of conservationists paid off, with both Pureora and Whirinaki forests permanently protected in 1984.
- During the past 30 years Forest & Bird has employed a growing number of professional staff, and has achieved many conservation successes around New Zealand. The members of our 49 branches are active in community restoration projects, managing reserves, carrying out pest control, local advocacy work and much more.
- In 1988 the Kiwi Conservation Club for children was launched to grow a new generation of conservationists. Members receive a regular magazine – now called Wild Things – and in many parts of New Zealand the children can join local KCC groups run by volunteer co-ordinators. Here are Gisborne KCC members making seed balls from earth and native plant seeds. They used tennis racquets to lob the seed balls to inaccessible banks in a fun – and messy – way of planting natives.
- During the past 30 years Forest & Bird has continued to extend its range of work and influence. We support efforts to combat global environmental issues, such as climate change, and we are the New Zealand partner of BirdLife International.
- After wide consultation Forest & Bird in 2011 developed a Strategic Plan for the coming years. Our vision for the future is that the unique natural environment and physical grandeur of New Zealand are maintained and restored to protect their intrinsic value and ability to sustain our people, native flora and fauna. The work of our professional staff and branch committee members is driven by our Strategic Plan.
- Since 1923 Forest & Bird has been New Zealand’s voice for nature. In 2013 we have 80,000 members and supporters and we are the nation’s largest, independent not-for-profit conservation organisation. Our legacy to New Zealand is the many wild places, native plants and animals that have been preserved since 1923. And we have inspired a greater love by all New Zealanders for the plants and animals found only on our islands and in our seas. With our members’ support, our work will continue so that future generations of New Zealanders can see and hear what we enjoy today. In the words of former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand: “It is difficult to imagine New Zealand without the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.”