Land of the First Light
Sandy Bull releases pāteke at the Nick’s Head Station wetland.
Steve Sawyer
For this year’s annual conference and AGM, Ducks Unlimited members will head east to Gisborne, land of the first light.
The venue for the conference, being held on 31 July and 1 August, will be the Emerald Hotel in the heart of the city.
A treat is in store for the field trip, with Nick’s Head Station in Muriwai agreeing to let delegates and their guests visit its wetland on Saturday, 1 August. Organisers are arranging for three speakers during the wetland visit.
They are:
- Kim Dodgshun, manager of Nick’s Head Station – welcome and introduction
- Steve Sawyer, owner/operator of EcoWorks, which implements many conservation activities at Nick’s Head
- Sandy Bull, a driving force behind much of the conservation work in Gisborne.
Nick’s Head Station is by the ocean so an alternative may be required if the weather does not allow the visit to go ahead as planned.
At this stage it is suggested to have the speakers at the Knapdale Eco Lodge if the weather is too bad.
Knapdale is somewhat protected in poor weather so it may be possible to view the wetlands there instead.
But, with Gisborne having the second highest sun hours in the country, conference organisers are hopeful DU can visit Nick’s Head Station.