Intrepid pair in Subantarctic yellow-eyed penguin expedition

MEDIA RELEASE

October 8, 2014

Intrepid pair bound for Subantarctic yellow-eyed penguin expedition

Two Kiwi teachers will be spending spring in the Subantarctic, after being selected to join the 2014 DoC Yellow Eyed Penguin Survey in the Auckland Islands.

The Sir Peter Blake Trust, in association with the Department of Conservation and Ministry of Education, has presented Environmental Educator awards to Voyager NZ Maritime Museum Educator, Frazer Dale, 42, of Sunnyvale, West Auckland and Cromwell College teacher, Christina Greenwood, 52, of Wanaka. Their award will see them join DoC workers counting numbers of endangered yellow-eyed penguins, whilst based in the Subantarctic.

Sir Peter Blake Trust CEO, Shelley Campbell, said that the Trust was thrilled to be able to award these amazing opportunities to Frazer and Christina, both of whom are passionate about conservation and the environment.

“Following the 2014 Young Blake Expedition to the Subantarctic, of which St Kentigern College teacher Bernard Potter was a member, it’s fantastic to be able to send another two inspiring Kiwi teachers to experience this stunning part of New Zealand and we can’t wait to see and hear all about Frazer and Christina’s adventures in the Auckland Islands.

“Thanks to DoC and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, they will be able to contribute to another important environmental project and bring their stories and knowledge of this unique part of the world home to share with their students, as well as many other New Zealanders,” added Ms Campbell.

The intrepid duo will spend a day in Invercargill, for quarantine, before departing from Bluff on November 17 and will return to Bluff on November 30. It will take around two days sailing to get to and from the Auckland Islands and, for the duration of the expedition, the crew will be based on the SV Evohe, a 28m yacht.

The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands have long been regarded as a stronghold for yellow-eyed penguins, although to date work at the Auckland Islands has been very limited. The last census estimate was calculated in 1989 and, since 2009, DoC, along with the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, has been gathering data to calculate a revised population estimate and build a baseline so population trend can be estimated.

The survey will require team members to count all of the penguins heading out to sea, for several hours, from just after dawn at 5am. During the count, staff will need to sit quietly and still, often alone at the site, and record the number of penguins seen entering the water. Once back on board the Evohe, there will be some down time to catch up on sleep and relax before heading out again to scout the next morning’s count sites.

To view photos and follow blogs from the 2014 DoC Yellow Eyed Penguin Survey expedition, visit: http://www.sirpeterblaketrust.org/get-involved/2014-doc-yellow-eyed-penguin-survey-in-the-auckland-islands/

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