Conservation Talk

Today in the senior area, Brian the conservationist came in with his friend Joakim. Brian talked about rat traps and how we could use them. After that, Joakim; from Sweden, talked about how many native species of flora we have in NZ.  Joakim also talked about a program they were running from the council that involved families and volunteers coming down to help them with weeding and growing. After that happened, we asked him and Brian questions, here are some of them...

Q. Do we have stinging nettle on the Miramar peninsula? -Jack K

A. Yes, we do have stinging nettle in Miramar.

Q. How many varieties of nettle are there? -Jack K

A. There are over 200 species of nettle in NZ.

Q. How many native flora species are there in Sweden? - Jude S

A. Around 6 thousand species of flora, but that’s because it’s surrounded by other European countries.

Q. What is the fastest native growing plant?- Louis

A. Ngaio is the fastest, and grows around 6m a year, but Bamboo can grow up to 5cm a day!

We are looking forward to learning more about conservation and how it works. Big thanks to Brian and Joakim.

By Jude and Jack K

If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved and what you can do in your own backyard go to: http://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/events-and-awards/conservation-week/choose-an-activity/in-the-backyard/