by Zel Ng, Greening of Kaipātiki Coordinator In March, a group of over 30 citizen scientists of all ages headed to the beach at low tide to conduct a marine metre squared survey, which involves recording the animals and plants living within 1m x 1m quadrats scattered across the shore. We braved the sun, wind and mud to scrutinise the shore and discover some of the wonderful creatures that live in the intertidal zone (the shore between high tide and low tide) in Kendall Bay. One group far out...

This beautiful long-tailed cuckoo, a strong flier used to long migratory flights, recently met its demise at the hands of an unlikely “predator” — a reflective sheet of window glass right here in the Kaipātiki suburb of Beach Haven. In fact, such window strikes are not as unlikely as you might think, and they have devastating results—studies have estimated that up to 1 billion birds die from window strikes in the US alone, and newer research from 2024 shows that even when birds survive the...

The pōhutukawa tree ( Metrosideros excelsa ), known as New Zealand’s Christmas tree, is another one of our iconic trees. Often seen clinging on to cliff faces by the ocean, spreading its roots and branches widely in old growth forests, or even in school yards. The symbol of the pōhutukawa is popular in the wider Aotearoa New Zealand culture, with artwork, Christmas cards and several children’s songs , all featuring the tree’s iconic red flowers. In te Ao Māori, the pōhutukawa tree and the...