On the 8th of September Te Mahia school students came along the Whangawehi river to install their Blue Penguin nesting boxes. The site is located in the estuary, just above the Whangawehi bridge and has been planted with 450 native plants. This area used to be highly colonised until the early 80s when human activities and predators put to much pressure on this vulnerable bird. With the help of Whanau, Te Mahia students built 13 boxes in August and named them for further monitoring. Traps were laid to reduce predator impact on bird life and hopefully protect the little colony. A netting will secure the area from dogs but still allow the birds to get in and out.

This initiative is certainly challenging but has the merit to raise awareness on a unique bird specie that used to be very common in the area.

A big thank you to the students, teachers, coordinator and whanau for their help and support.

Nga mihi nui