*Attention ALL volunteers!*

Our annual Volunteer BBQ Party is rapidly approaching! It will be hosted at our Visitor Centre (651 Brook St) on 13 December at 4PM🥳

Family members and friends are welcome if they have helped out the Sanctuary in some capacity. Please RSVP to events@brooksanctuary.org.nz by 6 DECEMBER, so we know how many we’re catering to!

There will be sausages from @raewardfreshrichmond , beer from @musselinngoldenbay_______ and @hopfederation , sodas from @freshchoicenz , @venerdi_bread , juice from @chiasisters , and yummy sides from @chantal_organics ! Ngā mihi to all our amazing sponsors🌿😊

We look forward to seeing all of you there to celebrate your hard work this past year! 🥰🎄

#volunteer #volunteering #holidayseason #holidayparty #bbq #conservationvolunteers

Exciting news just in time for the holiday season! 🌿❤️

Henry and Chelsea, two of our rangers here at the Sanctuary, have passionately given many hours to reintroduce korukoru scarlet mistletoe, Peraxilla colensoi, back into the Brook Valley.

“From seed collection to germination to the emergence of leaves, this has been a long process. Scarlet mistletoes are parasitic plants that have largely been lost from our forests, probably due to possums. Being a possum-free Sanctuary with abundant beech forest, this species is an ideal reintroduction. The propagation process involves smushing the sticky seed onto a branch of a silver beech. This must be done as soon as possible after collection, meaning that we often spent our day collecting and then sowing up to 300 seeds that evening. The success rate for propagating this species is low, as many things can go wrong.”

“We are stoked that most of our plants are showing signs of establishment! One day, we hope this plant will be self-sustaining within the Sanctuary, providing nectar for manu/birds that feed on the flowers and fruit and mistletoe-specific moths whose larvae feed on the leaves, while also bringing back some more colour to the ngahere.”

It may take us several years to get these mistletoes to take. However, the benefits certainly justify the efforts and we are very grateful for our dedicated rangers efforts. They are stunning plants that bring us closer to our goals of restoring the Sanctuary ecosystem.

#mistletoe #holidayseason #scarletmistletoe #Conservation

Tuatara Update! After the translocation two weeks ago, the Tuatara have been loving their new home. We’ve found them rubbing their bellies on our tracking tunnel cards, exploring the mouse-free exclosure, and munching on some yummy worms.

If you’d like to make sure our 56 new friends continue to thrive, join us for Bingo Night on 10 December at 6 PM. 100% of the proceeds from tickets go towards our Tuatara fund, so buy your tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/bingo-night-for-tuatara

#Tuatara #nzwildlife #nz #conservation #wildlifeconservation #protectwildlife