PREDATOR FREE WELLINGTON SCHOOLS

PREDATOR FREE
   WELLINGTON SCHOOLS
                                        Your monthly newsletter

                                             MEI / MAY 2020

We are Evans Bay Intermediate School (E.B.I.S.) and we are situated on the Wellington harbour. Our
school is a great skink and native bird attraction! In EBIS we have a group of students that focus on
eliminating all the local predators. They are called the EBIS Predator Free group. The above picture
shows how great the view is from our school. from our classroom we look out to the new bike track!
EBIS recognises and rewards the people that help look after our native wildlife and you receive a merit
award that we wear proudly on our school fleece.

Our school is also very rich on plantation and we have a group focusing on the gardening in our
school. We have set up benches so that the students can enjoy the schools plants.We love our native
bird/wild life and we believe we should protect and appreciate them.

If you are walking past EBIS on a weekend, it is not unlikely that you will see someone from the local
community biking, scooting or skating on the pump/bike track. EBIS is very engaged with the local
community and a great place to come to as a family.

               Supported by:
                               This is a newsletter made by primary students in the Predator Free
                               Wellington Schools Programme. It is aimed at all students at schools
                               taking part in the programme on and around the Miramar peninsula.
                               Any questions or queries, please have a look on the www.pfw.org.nz
                               website, or send an email to education@visitzealandia.com

STORY OF THE MONTH

Our new pump track and skink habitat
Bike Club at EBIS By Abi Isaia and Sienna Milligan | Room 1
On Friday a few of the bike club members worked on the maintenance of the bikes. We worked
on pumping the tires with Alan (the caretaker). After that we took them for a ride and now, most
of them are ready for riding.We have recently opened our new EBIS Bike Track. It goes through
the mounds and around the rugby field To ride on it you need to make sure you have a helmet.
They started making the bike track early last year. Rocks were placed throughout the track so it
would attract skinks and give them natural cover. We will be doing the grand opening very soon
or when we find time during the busy school hours.

ANIMAL OF THE MONTH

Pīwakawaka- Fantail
Rhipidura fuliginosa

The fantail (or Pīwakawaka) is a native New Zealand bird known
for its fanned tail, consisting of a few central black feathers
surrounded by outer white feathers, fanning out to give the
small bird its name. The bird is typically 16 centimetres long,
weighs 8 grams and is 8 centimetres tall. The longest recorded
lifespan of a fantail in New Zealand is 3 years, but in Australia
they’ve lived for up to 10 years. They mainly eat small bugs, such
as moths, flies, beetles, spiders and occasionally small fruits.
Inedible parts, such as wings, are usually discarded. In 2006
fantails were voted Bird of the Year.
In Māori Mythology, the fantail is considered to be a messenger, either bringing news of death or
just bringing death. The bird’s bulbous eyes and eccentric flight is associated with Māui squeezing
it when it refused to reveal the whereabouts of Mahuika, the fire deity.

- Anna Sheppard

                       A WORD FROM PREDATOR FREE WELLINGTON

                        COMPETITION TIME!
Take part in the NZ Garden Bird Survey and be in to win one of four awesome prize packs!

The NZ Garden Bird Survey builds on the same methodology as the bird counts you've done
together with Karin from ZEALANDIA. After practicing how to do bird counts you can now be part
of a nation wide citizen science project.

Sometime in between 27th June and 5th July sit down with your class or your family and do a 1 hour
bird count (it can be split into 15 min or 30 min sections) and report to the website. Easy as that!

    https://gardenbirdsurvey.landcareresearch.co.nz/
Post a picture of how your class or your family took part in the survey to your social media feed
with the hashtag #NZGardenBirdSurvey for your chance to win (Instagram, Facebook or Twitter).

Winners will be drawn at random on 10th July 2020 and announced on the NZ Garden Bird Survey
social channels.

You've got a private page?
You can still enter! Send a screenshot of your entry to @nzgardenbirds on Instagram.

SHORT STORIES

Poems

                 I AM BUT A TINY INSECT IN THE VAST UNIVERSE

                AS I HIDE IN THE GRASS, HOPING NOT TO BE SEEN

                I GLANCE AROUND AS THE WORLD FALLS ASLEEP

                 UP ON MY HAUNCHES, I BEGIN MY SYMPHONY

                            A GIFT TO THE GRASS

                             FOR PROTECTING ME

                    THE CAW OF BIRDS CANNOT REACH ME

                   THE FLAPPING OF BATS CANNOT HARM ME

                 THE CRAWLING OF SPIDERS CANNOT CATCH ME

                            HERE I AM PROTECTED

                            HERE WITH MY FAMILY

I AWAKE FROM MY SLUMBER,

    RUFFLE MY FEATHERS, READY FOR FLIGHT

       WITH A CRY AS LOUD AS THUNDER,

       I FLY INTO THE LUMINOUS NIGHT

      HUMANS GAZE UPON ME IN WONDER,

A SHADOWY FIGURE BLOTTING OUT THE MOON LIGHT

      I SWOOP DOWN, EAGER TO PLUNDER,

WHAT’S CAUGHT IN MY CLAWS CANNOT EVEN FIGHT

     I AM NEVER SUFFERING FROM HUNGER,

         A TRULY TRAUMATIZING SIGHT.

             I AM THE MOREPORK

NZ BIRD LIFE WORDFIND

NEW ZEALAND PLANTS CROSSWORD

NEW MURAL
We have a new native mural at EBIS.

Monday was the official unveiling of the beautiful new Mural on our backcourts - Te Taiao. The
mural was designed and painted by Miriama Grace-Smith and commissioned by the Kilbirnie
Business Network as part of their Kilbirnie beautification project. The ceremony was attended by
local business owners who supported the project as well as Rongotai MP, Paul Eagle and other
members of Wellington City Council. It depicts some of the beautiful native birds we are trying to
protect. We are so lucky to have such amazing art at our wonderful school.

WE CAUGHT A MOUSE!
We have caught many pests, particularly near the fence line of Evans
Bay forshore and the school.

A mouse was caught in the classroom though! Sneaky mouse!. We have 6 traps around the school
and we named and painted them. We check them every week and rebait them. When a trap has not
been successful we have been laying tracking tunnels to find better places.

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa - Let us keep close together, not far apart