Gone With the Wind... Almost.

Our amazing luck with weather has held, today dawned bright and clear as we prepared for another day of lectures and light hiking. Our lectures today consisted of an overview of the invasive animal species in New Zealand and solutions to that problem.

Pablo Garcia Diaz elucidated us on the many difficulties that New Zealand has faced in its quest to reclaim the island from the exotic invasive species that have grown out of control, like brushtail possums, stoats, and the rat. Later, Will Allen explained the different communication techniques that are required to create successful and long-lasting partnerships for sustainability and conservation. He often stressed that the most successful method of improvement for a project or team was constant self-evaluation; you have to understand why something worked or didn't work so that you can continue successes but avoid repeating mistakes.

As a final exercise he had us create rubrics for our course so we may evaluate what we liked/disliked, and what was successful/needs improvement. By the end of the course they'll be filled out with notes on what can be improved, so look out Dr. Hostetler!

As the lecturing half of our day drew to a close, we stopped at Coffee Culture for our morning teatime, then headed to the Ahoriri Scenic Reserve for a light hike to the top of a bluff.

It was a gorgeous hike full of native flora, like five finger (in Maori whauwhaupaku), and tussock grass. While we walked, the bellbirds (korimako) serenaded us and the curious fantails (piwakawaka) swooped in for a closer look. The view from the top of the bluff was well worth the hike, even if the wind threatened to blow us off the edge...

don't worry we were told to not go anywhere near the drop off.

After hiking back down to the Gatorwaka we drove to Governor's Bay to look for a royal spoonbill, rather like our roseate spoonbill, just white. Unfortunately it was still too high a tide to find it wading in the bay, but we enjoyed the view of the tide receding from She Universe, our afternoon tea time spot.

As we left Canterbury behind we caught a white flash in the bay that could have been the spoonbill, but we may never know. - Corinne

Ancient Trees, Sheep on the Street, Space Invaders, and Queen Bey

Our New Zealand day began once again as yesterday had before: 16 hours ahead and with a lecture by Dr. Colin Meurk. Today we learned about the theory, principles, and practices that go into ecosystem restoration.

We were reminded again that only by connecting people with the nature around us would we truly be able to revive our natural ecosystems. After a short pit-stop at the Coffee Culture in Lincoln, we traveled via Gator Waka to the Riccarton Bush. 

This ancient floodplain forest is one of the only sanctuaries with untouched native New Zealand flora left in this area. It is surrounded on all sides by a predator-proof fence, keeping out rabbits, mice, cats, and other exotic land mammals (including unwanted humans). Within the bush was a variety of podocarp trees and native vines. 

As we traversed the path Dr. Meurk would often stop to teach us about the species we were encountering. We learned that the Riccarton Bush was formerly used as a kiwi sanctuary, but due to potential non-native diseases from pigeons, the practice was stopped. 

After a quick lunch in the Gator Waka (it was a bit too rainy/cold/windy outside), the Florida kiwis took downtown Christchurch. 

 Here we played a ginormous Space Invaders game projected across the street. The game's levels focused on saving downtown from the aliens. The Gators brought home the win of course.

We also encountered a number of strangely colored sheep on the sidewalks. They gathered in small flocks and insisted on staring at us from afar. Not a single "baa" was uttered. 

At our final stop for tea downtown, we visited C One Espresso. This quirky coffee shop sported a hidden passage behind a moving bookshelf where Harry Potter audio books played over the speakers in the restrooms (I never thought I could enjoy using a public restroom so much!) The shop also had a novel way to transport food: ordered chips were shot through pneumatic tubes to the tables! 

Full of scones and tea, we visited a gift shop, a sporting goods store, a warehouse store like a Walmart on steroids, and yet another coffee shop (this one had the Dr. Hostetler Seal of Approval). On the ride home, we jammed out through the Gator Waka Bluetooth speaker to none other than Beyonce's "Love On Top". Dr. H remarked that we were mostly in key before bidding us goodnight. 

-Paige

P.S.: I have included the link to that song for your enjoyment.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7vObnFUJc 

Meurky Meeting and Mahoe

We couldn't have asked for a better sign that today was going to be wonderful than waking up to a gorgeous double rainbow and "warm" weather.

Today our intrepid little group met one of the leading conservationists in New Zealand, and one of the men responsible for our trip, Dr. Colin Meurk. After meeting us at the gate of the Landcare Research facility, the Florida hoodie clad Dr. Meurk walked us through the basics of different New Zealand biomes, from nival rock and ice to swamp forests and everything in between.

Dr. Meurk lecturing

We also learned about factors in the degradation of New Zealand's biodiversity, such as invasive pest species and human meddling. While talking about New Zealand's varying temperatures in winter (14 ℉ to  68 ℉), Dr. Meurk commented, "[the lower temperatures] are cold from a human perspective, but you have to imagine how a plant would feel."

Photosynthesis

He stressed many times in his lecture that one of the challenges faced by conservationists today is a lack of connection to the environment; that because we don't form those bonds with trees and animals native to our part of the globe, we feel no remorse when species begin to slip away.

After our lecture with Dr. Meurk, we walked around a subdivision done by a local Maori development company where we saw different native birds, like the pukeko and black-backed gull.

Pukeko

Identifying plants

Dr. Hostetler explained to us how to identify the plant species Hebe (if the leaves grow in a perpendicular fashion) while we explored a community that incorporates the natural environment into a human development.

Views from a nature trail inside the community

After lunch we headed to the Mahoe Reserve to do some native planting in what was an old illegal trash dump after being used as a gravel pit and that the local high school took over as their environmental project. This was our first experience getting up close and personal with the native flora as we planted juvenile cabbage trees, flax, and coprosmas. By the end of the day we had planted 208 individual plants, that will hopefully continue to grow and create a lasting native habitat for years to come.

The green plastic marks a new plant

-Corinne

Low Ropes, Lectures, Rugby, and Swimming

Kia Ora: Today the students are acclimating to the weather and the new time zone. We started the morning with some group exercises and team building (Speedball and Hot Chocolate). Group did quite well and no injuries. Had morning lectures on New Zealand conservation and development. Its all about engaging with different audiences in and around cities to positively affect biodiversity.

Team Building!

After an introduction to New Zealand meat pies at lunch (the famous Hilyers Cafe), students explored the small town of Lincoln. Back at the University, a Lincoln Uni rugby game was being played and students got to see the rough and tumble world of rugby.

Pies!

Rugby

After which, several students went swimming at the Selwyn Aquatic Center (yes the pools were heated!) and took some time to experience a NZ playground. (Hamster wheel, slides, crows nest, to name a few)

Swimming!

Playground

Playground

Hamster Wheel

We ended the evening watching Flight of the Conchords and had Pavlova, a NZ dessert originally made for a Russian ballerina. But there is some controversy.

making cream for the Pavlova

Flight of the Conchords!

Pavlova

Nighty night! Dr. H