Night walking with Wild About NZ
On Saturday 20th March, over 40 people joined Wild About NZ (WANZ) educators Tammy Bruce and Stacey Walden at Puketoki Reserve in Whakamārama for a fun and informative night walk. Most of the children were from the WANZ groups at Ōmokoroa Point, Ōmokoroa No. 1 and Whakamārama schools who came with their families. We also had a few other interested families from the local school community as well, which was awesome.
Due to our amazing turnout, we split into two groups, the second group had an up-close encounter with a ruru (morepork) just at the start of the trail. It flew overhead and perched on a nearby branch for all to view!
It was a beautiful night for walking in the forest, and we stopped along the way to listen to the sounds of the night, hearing morepork and a fantail. The second group also saw wētā along the way.
Both groups carried handheld bat detectors but unfortunately did not detect any bats. Further on at the creek, everyone enjoyed searching using their torches for eels and koura (native freshwater crayfish) which are only found in high-quality freshwater. The kids got a real kick out of seeing koura because they are studying freshwater ecosystems this term and understand that they are a sensitive invertebrate that could disappear if we do not look after our waterways.
We also saw a smattering of glow worms along the side of the track. It was a wonderful starry night and a great opportunity to meet our WANZ families.
Keep an eye out for future community events in term two.