Welcome to the first of what will be a regular Project Janszoon newsletter – a way for us to keep you up to date with what is happening in the Abel Tasman National Park as part of Project Janszoon.
The last 18 months has been a busy time as there was no manual we could pull off the shelf to tell us how to ecologically restore a national park. Our time has been taken up with building relationships, setting up structures with DOC, planning, bringing the specialists together and formulating a scheme to take the project forward.
This really is a unique partnership between Project Janszoon, the Department of Conservation and the Nelson/Tasman community. My thanks must go to DOC for their support and advice, the relationship is working well despite the challenges DOC staff are currently facing due to restructuring.
Thanks also to the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust (ATBT) who had started its wilding pine eradication project a year before we came on the scene. We have been working closely with them to ensure they have the resourcing to push that project through as quickly as possible. They have also done a lot of work on Adele Island and their accomplishments have given us a good idea about what bird life could be like in the rest of the Park over time.
The ATBT is funded by concessionaires who operate in the park and those concessionaires have also been generous to Project Janszoon, providing transport and support. We are also enjoying working with local iwi, bach owners and adjoining neighbours. Everyone sees the benefit of having the birds and native species return to the park and have indicated their willingness to play a part.
Personally I have been really blown away by the reaction to the project. This is something I am passionate about and as soon as you start to talk to people you see a mixture of excitement as well as disbelief that anybody would put up this sort of resource over a thirty-year time frame.
Now we have a plan and processes in place we can start to move forward. We know we won’t have the formula completely right yet but one of the keys is to keep measuring and learning as we go. It is exciting to think we can really make a difference to the ecology of the Park and to people’s enjoyment of it. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Devon McLean, Project Janszoon Director