Whakaaturaka
Exhibitions
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Events
E Whakaaturia ana Ināianei
On display
Keen on Kea

Kea Conservation Trust ecologist and community engagement co-ordinator Laura Young (left) with Our Changing World producer Alison Ballance after banding a young kea, named Harikoa or happiness. Photo: RNZ / Alison Ballance
Talk
Past event
Philip Carter Family Auditorium
Free
Dr Laura Young discusses the work the Kea Conservation Trust are doing in Arthurs Pass and the South Island to help increase kea numbers, and the unique challenges and threats facing New Zealand’s 2018 bird of the year.
Laura completed her PhD in alpine ecology in 2012. Her research showed that kea are by far the most important dispersers of seed of most mountain plants and declining kea populations may be detrimental for native plants in the long term. Laura has also been involved in a range of biodiversity monitoring, research and conservation projects – from kea to plant communities in Panama – and enjoys working with local communities to achieve conservation outcomes.