Auckland City Council

Media release

5 October 2009

Native species big winners in conservation awards

A passionate kea crusader and a 17-year-old determined to spread the message of native marine conservation have been awarded Auckland Zoo’s Conservationist of the Year and Young Conservationist of the Year in the second year of the awards.

Tamsin Orr-Walker, Chairperson and driving force behind the Kea Conservation Trust has been named Conservationist of the Year. Established in 2006, the trust is widely regarded as the leading advocacy organisation for kea.

Ms Orr-Walker has shown a long-term commitment to kea conservation and has spearheaded many projects including research into preventing kea eating 1080 poison and undertaking the first comprehensive survey on kea numbers. Ms Orr-Walker receives $1000 to assist with a conservation initiative.

“One of the major lessons I have learned as a conservationist working with a species as challenging as the kea, is that nothing can be achieved by one person alone. Teamwork and collaboration within and between organisations and communities is essential if longstanding prejudices are to be changed, respect for species and habitats is developed, and solutions to historical issues found,” says Ms Orr-Walker.

Nominated by the Department of Conservation, 17-year-old Samantha Cheah from East Auckland has been named Young Conservationist of the Year and receives a ‘money can’t buy’ experience that is connected with conservation.

Ms Cheah indentified apathy and indifference as the main barriers to marine awareness and set about overcoming these obstacles through displays, presentations, competitions and fundraising events. Ms Cheah has continued her conservation efforts into promoting World Environment Day on 5 June and has volunteered to be a youth leader for the 2010 Department of Conservation ‘Make a Difference’ marine course.

“It's a great honour to be given this award - and the fact that my efforts may be inspiring other youth to do the same is extremely encouraging for me,” says award winning Samantha Cheah.

“We live on a fantastic planet, in a fantastic country, teeming with fantastic wildlife - each of these animals is unique, and if we lose them in our ignorance and apathy we may never see anything like them again. It's important to look after them - for them and for us,” says Ms Cheah.

“The conservation awards are a great opportunity to reward and recognise people in an often overlooked field,” says Auckland Zoo conservation officer Peter Fraser.

“Auckland Zoo is committed to inspiring people to care for wildlife and we believe these awards not only highlight the excellent work being done by both Tamsin and Samatha, but also hope their stories will inspire others to take positive action,” says Mr Fraser.

ENDS

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