Lizard Habitats go in all over town!

Written By Kim Manunui

Although the Greening Taupō logo states, “Kia tangi ai te tini parirau- To hear the sound of many wings”, we hope to bring back all biodiversity with our restoration plantings, and we think bringing back invertebrates (bugs) and lizards is just as important as bringing back our native birds.

We were on a mission this year to focus on spreading the word about our special endemic (found nowhere else in the world) lizard species. Did you know that Aotearoa is home to over 120 species of geckos and skinks? Of these, 74% are classified as threatened or at risk!

Loss of habitat and the introduction of mammalian predators means that survival is becoming very difficult for our lizards. In fact, tuatara and 37% of our lizard species are now only found on offshore islands. (Statistics from NZ Herpetological Society)

Lizards are no longer commonly spotted in Taupō. We hope that by educating our young people, undertaking predator control, and restoring habitat, we might start to spot more of these special native animals in our town.

We worked with groups at many local schools and kindergartens, reading books about lizards, discussing their plight, and then planning projects with our tamariki.

We had a variety of lizard habitats planted all around town. Students learnt that a good lizard habitat needs flowers with nectar to drink, tangly native bushes for lizards to hide in, berries and bugs for kai, water to drink, rocks to lie on, lots of sun, and if possible, predator control. You can learn more about how to make a lizard friendly garden here.

It was fantastic to see the students doing their own research about our lizards in class too. They read books about lizards, researched online, some of them made posters and quizzes for other students. Many of our schools and kindergartens decided to also make signs for their areas. They had fun using the Canva website to design them. Quality Print will print them on outdoor signage material and they will be put into the gardens early next year. Check them out!

This is the book that we read to the tamariki about our green gecko. The students had lots of fun finding things in the book that they would need to put into a lizard habitat. What can you spot in the book that lizards would like in their garden?

Kim Manunui

Hi, I’m Kim and I work with a great team to help individuals, as well as small and not so small businesses get their message, product and services to the world using digital media and creating wonderful websites that don’t cost the earth.

I was born in Canada, and grew up around Vancouver and the mountains of British Columbia. My love of pristine environments led me to New Zealand and eventually to the mountains, lakes and rivers of the central North Island which is home. My family’s heritage is here, and it’s from here that Korio traverses the planet.

The digital world is never static and neither are we.

And I say ‘we’ because I work with an awesome group of talented people who I gather together as required to complete a project.  Whatever your business, not-for-profit or individual needs are we gather the best team to get the job done.

Collaboratively we are creative, share sustainable values and work hard for great outcomes because that’s the buzz of satisfaction that drives us.

If you have an audience and market to reach, we can make that happen. Creative design, words that work and smart behind the scenes stuff that cuts through the online noise. We’ll design your website and then build it. We’ll manage the content as well as all your hosting needs. We can handle your online advertising so you get noticed,
and we’ll manage your social media presence so you get the clicks, likes and engagement to grow your business. All within the budget you set, because none of this needs to cost the earth.  And the job doesn’t stop when your website goes live. We are your virtual business partner.

https://www.korio.co.nz
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