Open air movie to celebrate conservation

On Friday people are invited to an outdoor screening of documentary film 1080: Good News for Conservation.Conservation Week began yesterday and there is plenty lined up for people to see and do, including a free open-air movie screening atop Mount Drury and planting trees in Papamoa.
Tomorrow people can join Tauranga City Council Parks staff and Department of Conservation rangers for an exploration of the Gordon Carmichael Reserve.
There, trampers can discover the recent history of the reserve's development, learn about the marvellous bird life and help conserve nature by planting some new trees in an area set aside for Conservation Week planting.
If you are wild about weeds, expert Sara Brill from Bay of Plenty Regional Council will hold a hands-on half-day weed seminar on Thursday covering the identification and control of common weeds.
The workshop is idea for home gardeners, contractors, care group volunteers, farmers, "anyone wild about weeds", she said.
Also on Thursday the Department of Conservation will offer a talk by esteemed conservationist Don Merton, offering a first-hand account on the threat of New Zealand's rarest creatures.
Mr Merton is best known for saving the black robin from extinction.
Prior to his retirement in 2005, Mr Merton was a senior member of the New Zealand Department of Conservation's Threatened Species Section, within the Research, Development and Improvement Division Terrestrial Conservation Unit, and of the Kakapo Management Group. He has had a life-long interest and involvement in wildlife conservation having specialised in the management of endangered species since completion of a cadetship with the New Zealand Wildlife Service in 1960.
On Friday people are invited to an outdoor screening of documentary film 1080: Good News for Conservation.
The movie will be aired at the top of Mount Drury in Mount Maunganui and is expected to reveal the benefits to New Zealand's native birds resulting from the control of predators with 1080 poison.
The film will show a rejuvenated dawn chorus from native birds and interviews with scientists and DoC rangers working on the front line in the country's national parks.
On Sunday the Papamoa Hills Regional Park will be host to a community tree planting day.
Later in the day families are encouraged to bring along their children (aged 5 and over) to have fun together learning about and exploring the unique natural world found at Mount Maunganui with a bird discovery tour around Mauao.
Some of the workshops and events require registration, which along with further information, is available at www.doc.govt.nz.