Welcome and kia ora to our new initiative. Site being developed as of Dec 2017.
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth comprising all plants and animals and the ecosystems that support them.
Biodiversity forms the foundation of the vast array of ecosystem services that critically contribute to human well being.
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”
― Sir David Attenborough
The Aspiring Biodiversity Trust intends to protect, restore and enhance indigenous biodiversity whilst raising awareness of the importance of the natural world.
Our current projects focus on the Makarora Catchment (Part of Mt Aspiring National Park) and the threatened species it supports (Makarora Catchment Threatened Species Plan).
The Makarora Catchment and its associated tributaries (Rivers the Blue, Young and Wilkin) encompass a plethora of threatened species of conservation concern within a diverse assemblage of important habitats unique to New Zealand.
The habitats and species associations within this environment include; braided river as essential breeding sites for endemic wrybill, black-billed gull, black-fronted tern and banded dotterel. Below, is the first 2017/2018 wrybill fledgling (a vulnerable threatened species endemic to New Zealand which is dependant on braided river habitat to complete its lifecycle) identified from our braided river bird monitoring programme for Makarora River (Dec 2017).
The pristine rivers of the Blue, the Young, the Wilkin for whio/blue duck.The Southern Alps as core territory for rock wren and kea. The diverse beech/podocarp forest for kaka, mohua and long-tailed bat.
These species need our help and the help of future generations.
Thank you for visiting!
All text and images by Aspiring Biodiversity Trust unless specified. ABT ©
