The Rees Valley has a couple of new inhabitants – some of Aotearoa’s greatest taonga. Yesterday, eighteen takahē were released into the Rees Valley, the pinnacle of a significant project supported by RealNZ’s annual Conservation Ball.
The 2024 Conservation Ball, hosted at RealNZ’s Walter Peak in September, raised more than $150,000 to support the translocation of takahē into the Rees Valley. In conjunction with the Southern Lakes Sanctuary, the Department of Conservation, Ngāi Tahu and other conservation partners, the funds were allocated to protecting the Rees Valley from predators to allow native birds to thrive in the area.
Yesterday’s release was a pivotal moment in conservation in the Southern Lakes region, the result of countless hours of work from dedicated teams, and a project RealNZ CEO Dave Beeche says the company is proud to support.
“RealNZ’s purpose is to help the world fall in love with conservation, and our yearly Conservation Ball is a fantastic opportunity for our wider community and partners to support important projects in Aotearoa,” says Beeche.
“It’s incredible to see the real-world impact this funding and our conservation work represents – welcoming this important taonga species to the Rees Valley is an outstanding achievement from a lot of hard work from a lot of people. .”
The 2023 Conservation Ball’s cause will also reach an important milestone in the coming weeks. The first pairs of kākāriki karaka will be translocated to Pukunui Anchor Island at the end of this month, which the Ball raised an impressive $175,000 to back.
RealNZ’s conservation work was recently recognised at the 2024 TIA Awards, where the business won the Environment award, as well as being named Supreme Tourism Business of the Year. Beeche says this recognition is a result of the partnerships the business has prioritised, alongside the mahi of RealNZ’s passionate staff.
“It’s a privilege for RealNZ to work with DOC to identify key conservation projects in the lower South Island to support, whether its through day-to-day trapping efforts with our on-the-ground teams, or fundraising events like the Conservation Ball,” says Beeche.
“It’s work we’re very proud to be part of, and it remains at the core of everything we do.”
Find out more about RealNZ’s conservation projects here.