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Tag: Wildlife

Portobello has been a popular visitor area for 120 years
A Quiet Corner of the World

A Quiet Corner of the World

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Its been noticeably quiet on the Otago Peninsula  with the latest Covid-19 related lockdown and our progression into level two.  As we move into spring and the days get longer the Peninsula begins awakening and preparing for summer. Both people and animals begin to shrug off the last vestiges of winter as the lawnmower gets dusted off and birds begin their frantic nest building in garages and trees around our community. However, one thing that has not been awakened has…

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Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

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Winter is not my favourite season, I take no joy in the cold and darkness and if I had my way I would hibernate through it like a bear. However, with the arrival of spring my disposition changes and I become energised and optimistic once again. Spring on the Otago Peninsula though has its trials, and is best described by Mark Twain who once wrote “In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”…

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Environment Strategy Submission

Environment Strategy Submission

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Our first experiences of the environment and biodiversity usually come from our early explorations as children in our backyard and local community. It’s the beginning of our awareness of the natural world and an important step into our understanding of the world around us.  The Dunedin City Council has recently presented Te Ao Turoa – The Natural World as a draft environmental strategy for the City. The proposed strategy lo sets out themes, objectives and priorities for the management of the Dunedin Environment. I was asked…

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The Passionfruit on the Peninsula

The Passionfruit on the Peninsula

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The Banana passion-fruit vine (Passiflora mollissima) has become a problem plant for the Otago Peninsula over recent years and has continued to occupy significant areas of roadside in Portobello and Harington Point Roads. Given its highly invasive nature and need for high light levels passion-fruit has begun to choke the life out of many  areas around the Peninsula. Its prolific fruit production has also been shown to be a suitable source of food for possums and birds distributing viable seed from…

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Home on the Range

Home on the Range

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One of the great things about living on the Otago Peninsula and having children at a local school is you get to do some of the cool things that they do as well. I was one of two parents who took a group of children from Portobello School to Okia Reserve for “World Ranger Day” with the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. Getting children out of the classroom and providing a genuine ranger experience was a great concept, but having pupils from the three Peninsula…

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