The Kea Conservation Trust’s fourth kea conference (Kea Summit), was held in Rotoiti/St Arnaud on Saturday 8th June - Sunday 9th June 2024. The Kea Summit brought people together from around NZ and beyond, to present current knowledge on kea status, threats and conservation measures and, to provide a forum for networking, sharing information, brainstorming conservation strategies and generating community action to save our most charismatic and endangered mountain parrot, the kea.
Just under 100 people attended the 2 day Summit to listen to 29 presentations on all things kea. The conference was opened by Aaron Hemi (Ngāti Apa ki Te Rā Tō), Tamsin Orr-Walker (KCT) and Hilary Aikman (DOC).
Speakers And Topics
The following speakers presented at the Summit;
DAY 1
SESSION 1
Significance of Rotoiti to Ngāti Apa ki Te Rā Tō
Aaron Hemi | Ngāti Apa ki Te Rā Tō
The importance of the past in shaping the future
Tamsin Orr-Walker | Kea Conservation Trust
Leigh Joyce | Kea Conservation Trust
Rautaki Whakaora Kea – flight of the Kea Recovery Strategy
Kerry Weston | Department of Conservation
Fiona Sloan| Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
The Zoo and Aquarium Association Kea Programme - the power to drive meaningful community-based action
Todd Jenkinson | Zoo and Aquarium Association
Kea in the North: Updates from the North American Regional Kea Studbook Program
Jessica Meehan | Denver Zoo/Association of Zoos and Aquariums
SESSION 2
Cats, traps and kea
Jessi Morgan |Predator Free New Zealand Trust
Developments in DOC’s National Predator Control programme and implications for the kea population
Josh Kemp | Department of Conservation
Nelson Lakes kea update
Melissa Griffin | Department of Conservation
Yolanda Shergold | Department of Conservation
Analysing kea burrow monitoring footage en masse
Matthew Ireland | Victoria University
SESSION 3
RFID technology for Kea – another tool in the toolbox
Tracey Dearlove & Rose Lanman | Department of Conservation
Over the hills and far away: how to best utilise GPS technology to answer kea movement ecology questions?
Jodanne Aitken | Lincoln University
A final update on DOC’s kea repellent trial results
Laura Young | Department of Conservation
Kea thriving in South Westland
Nick Mulgan | Zero Invasive Predators
SESSION 4
Kea activity trends across a predator operation in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park
Nick Foster | Zero Invasive Predators
Risks for Kea: Preliminary monitoring of introduced mammals at Ōpuke/Mt Hutt
Sara Kross | University of Canterbury
Michael Ramsbottom | University of Canterbury
Update from the South - Matukituki, Great Walks and Fiordland
Lydia McLean | Kea Conservation Trust
Avian Influenza and kea
Pauline Howard | South Island Veterinary Hospital
DAY 2
SESSION 5
Opportunities for parrot conservation in NZ and islands of the South Pacific
Luis Ortiz-Catedral | World Parrot Trust
Nobody’s perfect! What psychological influences are associated with visitors’ behaviour with kea?
Joanne Aley | Independent
Living with kea
Lana Handley |Department of Conservation/Kea Conservation Trust
Kea Research at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
Cornelia Habl | University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
SESSION 6
An alpine research base for the KCT?
Matt Griffin | Mt Robert Foundation
KCT community engagement in Arthur's Pass - why we should never talk to kea
Renee Habluetzel | Kea Conservation Trust
Talking Kea
Philip Temple | Independent
Two thousand kids and counting – the Kea Roadshow
Helen Hamblin| Kea Conservation Trust
SESSION 7
Jobs 4 Nature Lead Removal Project
Peter Fraser | Kea Conservation Trust
Lead ammunition contributes to lead poisoning in kea
Kerry Weston | Department of Conservation
Making Backcountry Huts safe for kea (or making huts safe from kea)
Rob Brown | Backcountry Trust
Lead removal and mapping project updates
Joanna Taylor | Kūmānu Environmental
SESSION 8
Brainstorming Session - Kea Advocacy Toolkit
Todd Jenkinson | Zoo and Aquarium Association
Tamsin Orr-Walker | Kea Conservation Trust