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Make it happen...
Learning, proving concepts, collaborating, failing and trying again...
None of us know as much as we think we do and the thing we keep learning is just how many more good questions need to be answered and tools developed to truely restore the places we call home for generations to come.
We are very clear that the work we're doing on the islands in Tamatea / Dusky Sound is carrying on Richard Henrys work simply protecting our native species here until we got better tools to scale wider.
So the second piece is helping with proof of concept tool development wherever we can. Driven by altruism and integrity all sorts of projects have sprouted and continue to sprout.
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Get in touch if something is nudging you
Camera protocol
Knowing what is present is key to knowing what to do about it. DETECTION is key and cameras are a wonderful tool but we’re still learning. So we tested a static versus an enviro smart grid... conservatively averaging a 4-5 times increase in terms of sensitivity in stoat detection.
EniroSmart Grid method free for anyone to use and improve
Get in touch
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The scale ranges from simple absence and presence to relative numbers which we’re all trying to figure out. On Tau Moana / Five fingers we deployed over 80 cameras in the ZIP grid at 1 / 35ha in 2021. Gracefully sponsored by the Kakapo Project! This data has helped train AI, run non target trials for bait development for the Island Eradication Team and continues to teach us about animal behaviour. However relative abundance remains illusive. Rusty like so many hunters and trappers questioned how much more sensitive a grid could be if you made it softer and placed cameras based on environmental cues rather than GPX points. So we decided to test it. We overlayed the static grid with what we’ve called the EnviroSmart Grid in the south across 900ha with and additional 22 cameras keeping the average coverage of 1/35ha. We ran it alongside the existing static grid and then again for a second time with a different human just to be sure.
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These are the numbers of cameras per week in the respective grid that detected stoats. Not counting each interaction, simply asking did it detect or not that week. Â The same amount of cameras are run in each grid and at the same time, covering the same area, with the same animals present, with the same food supply. No other variables - only comparing one protocol with another averaging a 4-5 times increase in terms of sensitivity.
That means by using the same amount of cameras you could SIGNIFICANTLY increase the sensitivity of your network simply by changing locations based on environmental cues. Reversely you could cut budget to a quarter and still achieve current sensitivity. Â
Get in touch
Get in touch if you have any questions and please do incorporate the learnings where it fits into YOUR place
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Knowing what is there is one thing but we then need to ATTRACT it to whatever we want to kill it with. At the moment most attraction for stoats is food based such as the meat and eggs we’re placing in traps. What about their natural pray making sounds, smelling or moving or other social cues given by their own kind?
We developed a prototype device that can be retrofit into a classic DOC200 or DOC150 wooden box to play whatever sounds you’d like in whatever order.
Now available for purchase to keep trailing.
$350 plus freight and battery (Voltaic)
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So thanks to a Greer Clayton painting as well as Jonny giving his development talents at cost we’ve been able to come up with a prototype SOUND LURE.. the Pure Salt TRAP TWEETER.. we had a giggle too.. smile..
The device is one thing but what quality sounds to play is what we need to learn.
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Features include:
• Small form factor, 100mm x 68mm (excluding mounting lugs), 40mm in height
• Mounting lugs to secure unit within trap using screws
• User selectable bird call announcement interval, from 10 to 45 seconds and 1 to 15 minutes
• Internal light sensor provides automatic selection of day/night bird calls
• High quality audio from uncompressed (PCM) audio samples and high performance speaker
• Up to 2048 different bird calls can be loaded onto the internal micro SD card
•Day/night bird calls are selected at random, or single fixed calls can be set for day and night
• Long battery life, up to 48 days run time depending on battery type and call interval
• Separate USB battery can be quickly exchanged by field workers
• User selectable periodic load to prevent some USB batteries from automatically powering off Â
It is a prototype with room for improvement so let us know if you're keen to iterate with us.
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We wouldn't be able to do what we do without countless wonderful individuals, clients, friends and businesses being there to chip in.
Protecting our special marine environments by preventing the introduction or spread of invasive species is one thing but what do we do when they arrive? We drew on our past lives as commercial divers using a diver operated suction dredge for large scale removal with MPI.
Learnings and method freely available for anyone to use
Download the report
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We ran a collaboration with MPI to prove using diver operated suction dredges would be a viable tool for removal of undaria in the Fiordland Marine area and beyond.
It was a big job with soooooo many wonderful and passionate people involved. Sean and myself got to draw on what felt like past life skills from our commercial dive background and are proud to have proven a tool that we intuitively knew on paper for anyone to use.
So enjoy a little light reading and get in touch with any questions. It's all open source to share!
Only one marine pest is known to be present in Fiordland, the invasive Asian seaweed, Undaria.
One of the biggest risks to this area is the impact of marine pests, such as Undaria or Mediterranean Fanworm, establishing. The Fiordland Marine Regional Pathway Management Plan is the first of its kind in New Zealand and is a huge step towards protecting and securing the future of this precious area.
The Plan aims to greatly reduce the risk of marine pests being carried in on local and visiting vessels.It has been developed and will be implemented by a partnership group including Environment Southland, Fiordland Marine Guardians (www.fmg.org.nz), Ministry for Primary Industries (www.mpi.govt.nz), Department of Conservation (www.doc.govt.nz), and Ngai Tahu.
If you see Undaria or any other marine pest in Fiordland, report it via Biosecurity New Zealand’s pest and disease hotline: 0800 80 99 66.
Find out more about marine pests
Clean gear
Clean your gear between dive, fishing and boating sites and especially prior to exploring Fiordland.
Find out how
Undaria
You can find more information around Undaria and exemption areas on the Environment Southland website.
Learn more
Clean vessel pass
Ensure your hull is clean and reduce the risk of further introductions prior to entering Fiordland. Apply for a clean vessel pass.
Apply
Getting gear into the bush for the work that needs to be done hasn't been easy so when a Khan asked if we'd like to collaborate on trailing his drone to set up a new trap network on Pigeon Island it was a clear YES and an awesome success.
Proof of concept success and delivery work in the making
We always believed that people are just people and values should run through business the same way they run through our personal lives. Altruism and integrity it is for us. So why not use business as a force for good?
We are living proof of concept one day and one project at a time... always looking at ways to inspire and enable others to do what they can...
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