Zealandia CEO visits

Zealandia chief executive officer Paul Atkins recently visited the Kapiti Rotary Club and presented facts about the preservation of wildlife in and about Wellington that interested a large audience.

Many species of native birds including the tui, kakapo, hihi, korimako, kaka and fantail have been provided with a predator-free safe haven within a fenced valley in which to breed and live naturally.

This has had the effect of bringing birdlife back into the surrounding suburban gardens and residents can once again enjoy the benefits of watching and listening to the attractive calls of native birds in their own surroundings.

Zealandia staff are actively involved in the encouragement of a predator-free Wellington.

Rats, possums and stoats have now been eradicated from the suburb of Miramar. There is an initiative to give priority to bringing about a Wellington that can boast being the ‘world’s first pestfree capital’.

Zealandia attracted almost 73,000 visitors in the past 12 months, and these included 4600 cruise ship passengers from all over the world.

Comments relayed to staff have been very complimentary and many overseas organisations have expressed intentions to emulate the wildlife preservation example that has been set in Wellington.

When asked about the future, Mr Atkins said, “Zealandia is leading a transformational change in the way people think about the value of nature, and learn how to nurture and live with it in the places we live.”