The is no way we would be able to do a fraction of the work we do without our volunteers. Our projects are so successful because we have a dedicated group of local volunteers who we can call on at anytime. However, it would be great to have more!! Anyone who is interested in helping out on short term activities i.e. 1-7 days or so would be very welcome. Give us a call or send us an email to find out what we are up to. If you are driving through Turangi and have some time and energy to give for a worthwhile cause, we would be happy to hear from you.
LONG TERM AND INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS Being a long term volunteer with TNHS enables you to get involved with a variety of different activities. Apart from your main project you also get involved with the regular member activities of the society such as broom pulling, seedling collections and planting. This is always a good opportunity to interact with the members and update them on what it is you are doing and how things are going with the long term projects.
Major projects for the upcoming season will be forest restoration, bird monitoring, wetland restoration, historic surveys and developing environmental education resources. We are now taking applications for 2008/09.
There is also the prospect of helping on projects with DoC rangers. Recent projects that we have been involved in include 2 week stints in the Kaimanawa Forest Park surveying the rare carnivorous snail Powelliphanta marchanti, and monitoring of the woodrose (Dactylanthus) in areas around the national park.
Registration: Phone (07) 386 6499 or email: info@tongariro.org.nz if you
are keen to volunteer on any of the projects or have any questions.
General
Information
Our Volunteer Goals
Provide volunteer opportunities so the community
can assist in the conservation of Tongariro National
Park’s natural, cultural and historic resources;
Provide opportunities for people to safely
experience the values of the natural and historic
environment;
Support and strengthen links between tangata
whenua, conservation and recreation groups, the
community and the Department of Conservation;
Enable conservation tasks that otherwise would not
have been done, to be completed through the
assistance of volunteers.
Registration Prior registration is required for all projects. To register,
or for specific activity information, please contact TNHS
directly. Phone: 07 386 6499 Dates
Check our website (www.tongariro.org.nz), our
newsletter, or phone us during business hours to find out
specific dates relating to some projects. Fitness Level Guide
Activities in this booklet are ranked according to the
following fitness requirements: Low: Capable of tramping with a pack for up to three hours over fairly easy terrain. Medium: Capable of tramping with a pack for three to seven hours over sometimes difficult terrain. High: Capable of tramping with a pack for eight hours or more over difficult terrain and sometimes arduous conditions.
What to bring
Please note that Tongariro National Park experiences
alpine weather conditions that can change extremely
quickly and produce strong, cold winds and even snow
at any time of year. Volunteers should ensure they have
adequate windproof and waterproof clothing.
Below is a list of gear you are required to bring with you
for day activities: Personal Gear:
Tramping boots (preferably with ankle support)
Day pack
Your lunch, snacks and drink
Personal first aid/medication
Raincoat and waterproof leggings
Sunhat
Sunscreen and insect repellent
Spare warm clothes (jersey, woollen shirt etc)
As well as these, you may require other gear, depending
on the activity:
Togs and towel
Gardening gloves
Planting spades
Sleeping bag
Torch
If you have any enquiries about gear to bring, please ask
us in advance of the activity day
Volunteer Projects 2008 - 2009 Below is the programme for 2007/08 season. If you would like a published brochure mailed out to you when they are available please contact info@tongariro.org.nz.
One day and short
term projects
Dactylanthus taylorii monitoring
When: September-October 2008 (seed set) and March
2009 (flowering)
Where: Tongariro Forest, Kakaramea and 100 Acre
Bush
Description: Monitoring mainly caged plants in these
three populations. Tasks may also include caging of
new plants, seed collecting and pollination. Dates are
weather dependent.
Fitness/Skills: Low
Tukino Revegetation
When: 17th October 2008
Where: Tukino Rd, off Desert Road
Description: This is the continuation of the planting
programme planting tussock in areas that have been
affected by 4WDs and revegetating areas after the
removal of the exotic marram grass.
Fitness/Skills: Low
Pittosporum turnerii planting at Kuratau
When: 20th November 2008
Where: Kuratau
Description: Continuation of the restoration work at the
historic mill site. There are numerous large trees ready
to plant and seeds will also be collected to grow on in our
nursery to continue this restoration work.
Fitness/Skills: Low
Taonui Viaduct
When: 6-7 December 2008
Where: Horopito
Description: A group will be starting to uncover the old
Taonui viaduct, near Horopito. This is a working bee
weekend involving cutting a track into the viaduct and
starting work uncovering the viaduct piles.
Fitness/Skills: Medium
Blue Duck (Whio) Monitoring
When: January 2009
Where: Tongariro Forest
Description: Help the DOC whio team on several rivers
bordering the Tongariro Forest. Tasks may include the
catching, banding and changing transmitters on adult
females. You must be comfortable walking along rivers
and uneven ground.
Fitness/Skills: High
Heather control at Mt Pihanga summit
When: May 2009
Where: Mt. Pihanga (from Turangi)
Description: Ever seen the views from the top of Mt.
Pihanga? Join the DOC team for a day in the sun and
help control heather and other weeds in the alpine area
at the top of Pihanga. You will helicopter to the summit in
the morning and walk back down via the cable track.
Fitness/Skills: Medium
Ongoing Projects
Even though these are longer term projects
help for one day or many is appreciated.
Mt. Pihanga – Rotopounamu Restoration
When: August 2008 – May 2009 This is the biggest restoration project that TNHS is
currently involved in. It is a long term project, using
intensive pest control, with the aim of restoring the area
to its natural state to enhance native fauna and flora in
the area. There are many tasks to accomplish this year
and things you may want to be involved in will depend on
your interests and availability.
They include:
• Stoat and rat trapping – ongoing weekly checks of
the 50 traps around the lake between September
2008 and April 2009. Be involved for one day or take
it on for a period of time as a special mission!
• Weta monitoring – the weta boxes are checked once
a month throughout the year if you are keen to come
and see these insects up close.
• Tracking tunnels – we use these tunnels to assess
predator abundance in the area. The operation will
run in August 2008, November 2008, February 2009
and May 2009.
• Five minute bird counts – 200 counts will be done
during February 2009 if you are interested in
knowing what the different cheep and chirps are that
you hear in the forest when you are out walking.
• Tomtit distance sampling – distance sampling is
carried out over three fine mornings in March 2009
and is an important indicator of how well our predator
control has worked.
• Dactylanthus taylorii monitoring – the caged plants
are visited in September 2008 to check seed set and
in March 2009 to check flowering of these threatened
parasitic plants.
• Mistletoe monitoring – the white mistletoe plants will
be monitored in September 2008 to check on general
health of these plants. We will also be surveying for
red and yellow mistletoe in December 2008.
• Bait station control – This season we will be relying
on efficient bait station control to maintain low
predator numbers around Rotopounamu. The bait
stations will be filled from September 2008 to April
2009. Come and give us a hand!
Fitness/Skills: Low -
High, all abilities can be catered for.
Waimarino Wetland restoration
When: September 2008 to December 2008
This project is in its fourth year and the results from
willow control in the last few years are amazing. Another
part of this restoration project includes monitoring five
threatened bird species found in the area. This involves
illiciting calls from the birds at 21 sites throughout
the wetland by playing the birds calls over speakers.
Monitoring will occur on fine days during early morning
and late evening September 2008 to December 2008.
Access is by foot or kayak for those that are keen to see
this special place up close and hear rare and threatened
bird species that you never knew existed so close to
State Highway One!
Fitness/Skills: Medium - High
Registration: Contact TNHS, Phone (07) 386 6499 or
email: info@tongariro.org.nz if you are keen or have any
questions about volunteering on the Waimarino project.
Kakaramea Project
When: December 2008 to March 2009 This project is centred around the important Dactylanthus
taylorii population at Kakaramea, near Mt. Tihia. This
site has been classified as a priority site nationally for
the recovery of this threatened plant. The project also
involves native bat monitoring, as these mammals are
important pollinators of the Dactylanthus plants.
Tasks
this year include:
• Bat monitoring transects December 2008
• Dactylanthus flower monitoring in March 2009
• Bat monitoring using digital bat boxes February-
March 2009
Fitness/Skills: Low-Medium
Kiwi egg transport
When: September 2008 – May 2009 Teams from Tongariro Forest Kiwi Sanctuary, Karioi
Rahui and Waimarino kiwi programmes will call on us
to transport kiwi eggs through to Kiwi Encounter at
Rotorua where they become part of the Bank of New
Zealand Operation Nest Egg programme. Because of the
urgency to get eggs to incubators as safely and quickly
as possible some transports are at short notice but for
most we can give a couple of days notice. Our job will
be to transport the eggs from our office here in Turangi
to Rotorua without stopping! If you want to be part of this
programme leave your name with us on “The Kiwi List”.
Fitness/Skills: Low, most of the time TNHS will have a
vehicle available.
Number Required: At least two people each trip.
TNHS nursery work
When: Ongoing Our native nursery is forever expanding and this season
we are building a brand new nursery at the DOC
workshop area. The aim is to grow 2000 plants each
year for our wetland restorations. We have ongoing work
in the nursery at different times of the year including
weeding, re-potting, moving plants etc. If plants are your
thing, then do we have the place for you!
Fitness/Skills: Low
Events in Tongariro National Park There are several events that occur in the national park over the year which TNHS are asked to help for which we get a donation.
These events are important for us as we get recognition for the work we do in the park and the events help to spread the word about TNHS. The Land Rover Tussock Traverse event is an event run solely by TNHS and is an important day in our calendar. This year
the events and dates are:
“Mountains to Sea” multisport event When:24-26 October 2008 Description:The Mountains to Sea multi sport event is returning to the park. The event goes from Whakapapa to Wanganui. Help
marshal this exciting event as it winds its way through the national park on its first day. On Friday the event starts at Ruapehu
and ends at Whakahoro, near Taumaranui. The hardy souls among you may wish to follow the event for the weekend through to
Wanganui. This is an important fund-raiser for TNHS.
Land Rover Tussock Traverse mountain run/walk When:24 January 2009 Description: This is TNHS’s own event in Tongariro National Park, proudly sponsored by Land Rover. Help out on this fund-raising
event by marshalling along the track or assisting at the finish line. The run/walk goes from the end of Tukino Rd, past the historic
Waihohonu Hut to Whakapapa. Heaps of fun and laughs for everyone involved. Any help the day before would also be appreciated.
Summer Nature Programme When:January 2009 Description:There are numerous and various trips planned this year, but we are still open to trip ideas. The TNHS Kite Day, on
1 January, is part of the Summer Nature Programme. If you are interested in interpreting/assisting/leading a trip this year please
contact us.
Registration: If you are interested in helping out with any of these events contact TNHS,
Phone (07) 386 6499 or email: info@tongariro.org.nz
