And what a Conservation Week it was!
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the first Conservation Week in 1969 – communities banded together to clean up our beaches, families headed out into the great outdoors, scouts completed conservation tasks to earn a new badge, and rangers shared their mahi in night walks, celebration events, movie screenings and planting days.
With more than 200 events available on our website, New Zealanders were out in force last week sharing the message: Nature Needs Us.
@mattharveynz
Matt shared a part of New Zealand that we can all appreciate, the sounds of birdlife when tramping through our native forests.
@sophiepiearcey
Sophie supported Conservation Week by learning more about conservation in New Zealand at a locally-run workshop – pictured: Sophie out exploring the trails around Queenstown.
@aucklandzoo
Puppies! You met with Pai and Piri, our furry conservation heros, at Auckland Zoo. They do an amazing job at conserving our native wildlife, handlers and DOC staff answered questions and introduced the conservation dogs to visitors to the Zoo.
This Saturday 21st September @docgovtnz Conservation Dogs Pai and Piri will be at the zoo to show the great work they do to conserve our native wildlife, with hourly demonstrations taking place from 10am – 2pm in our entry clearing. In between demonstrations the dogs will be walking the zoo grounds with their handler and DOC staff to meet you and answer your queries. We’ll also have fun activities at our Wild Work centre, where you can create seed-bombs to spread healthy herbs and vegetables in your backyard. 
credit: Joseph Kelly@ziptreknz
The team at Ziptrek in Queenstown brought the local community into their Conservation Week efforts – hosting a Conservation in Tourism talk with Real Journeys and Kiwi Birdlife Park.
@gibbstonvalleywinery
Central Otago winery, Gibbston Valley, empowered their employees to spend Conservation Week cleaning up the local area and planting native flora, with some even taking time during the week to map birds, identify predators and set/check traps.
@backyardtravelfamily
Jen and her family celebrated Conservation Week on the Marian Lake Track, teaching her children all about how important it is to respect nature and the privilege we have in New Zealand to explore such beautiful lands.
@kidsgreeningtaupo
Creativity was the focus of tamariki in Taupōd during Conservation Week – a superhero dress-up and planting day, night eco-exploring, geothermal plants workshop, trap building, and native butterfly watercolour workshops with local artist Sue Graham from Wildwood Gallery.
#ConservationWeek@mrs_kimbi
The Wakatipu Reforestation Trust worked together with volunteers and the incredible views of Lake Hayes to plant local natives as part of Conservation Week.
#conservationweek #wakatipureforestationtrust #nofilter #glass @docgovtnz@ourhomesweetworld
Sarah, Josh and Lena used Conservation Week as an opportunity to get out in nature and on a hike as a part of the Kiwi Conservation Club Camp. They love going on adventures as a family in the Peel Forest (pictured), Canterbury.
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been on a decent hike as we’ve been spending our weekends having open homes lately while we try to sell our house so we can move on to our next chapter – our tiny home build! Has anyone been out hiking or tramping lately? Here’s a photo from one of our fave @docgovtnz hiking areas – Peel Forest 
josh
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Thank you to you, for your contribution to Conservation Week – big or small. The 50 year anniversary was a huge success thanks to local communities planting trees, sharing stories and connecting with rangers all across Aotearoa!