Page 11 - 2008 NZ SUB ANTARCTIC ISLANDS - SMARTPHONE

After having been used as farmland, gold and quartz mining venues, and a reservoir created by
the construction of two different dams, the Sanctuary Valley as the site has been called for 100+
years was determined to be a perfect setting for a cityside wildlife preserve. A group of citizens
petitioned the local government and the national government for the rights to purchase the 1
square mile of property and won acceptance from both. A survey of Wellington’s local citizenry
in 1990 revealed 90% support for the preserve. The Trust formed to purchase the land raised the
necessary money and the land was transferred to the Trust in 1995. The Trust opened to visitors
during that year so that people could visit and understand what was being proposed. There is an
ambitious 500-year vision that guides the Sanctuary’s development and management—that vision
started in 1995 and states that it will require 500 years of regrowth to bring the land back to its
condition prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Of course the new life envisioned for the area requires that all non-native plants and creatures be
removed permanently from the area. Original species of birds, animals and plants which have
been lost to the area after 700 years of human intrusion must be reintroduced and nurtured to self-
sustaining populations.

The first and most expensive endeavor, after the land acquisition, was the building of the predator
proof fence around the entire valley a 5.5-mile long structure completed in l998. At that time, the
Trust scientists declared the area predator-free except for mice. Much research was required in
the design of the fence. It had to be able to repel cats, dogs, ferrets, possums, rats, and all other
mammalian predators completely! This meant scientists and observers needed to determine how
high a cat could climb, how deep a dog or ferret could dig, how small a space a rat could enter.
All this work was done and the fence designed appropriately. Since the original fence
construction even mice have been eradicated. Now the fence must be regularly maintained to
insure that it is intact. Ongoing monitoring must be conducted to detect any penetration of the
fence by any of the said predators. Constant vigilance is the price of successful restoration!

In addition to creating a predator-free environment, the Trust was committed to the reintroduction
of native birds, plants and the famous “living fossil” from the Age of Dinosaurs, the tuatara.
Several bird species missing from the Wellington environs for many years have been successfully
returned to this habitat: the stitchbird, the saddleback, the bellbird, and the tui, among others.
Native trees and shrubs have been planted while young stands of native hardwoods are
encouraged through eradication of competing non-native species.

One of the signs of the early achievements of this valuable Sanctuary is the success of many of
the returned bird species. Not only are these birds easily seen and counted within the reserve,
many have begun flying into the Wellington neighborhoods to visit bird feeders and back lawns,
delighting the city dwellers who have so strongly supported this effort. Research has confirmed
that the numbers of these birds are rising as they are no longer predated by creatures for which
evolution provided no defense.

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