AGM – Sunday 17 August

3.00pm at the Okura Hall, 81 Okura River Road, Okura.

Guest Speaker: Ben Paris – the Bat Guru.

Pekapeka, the only native land mammals in Aotearoa New Zealand, are largely unknown due to their small size, rarity, nocturnal habits, and elusive nature. However, awareness and interest in these unique bats is gradually increasing.

Before 2010, little knowledge was known about long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) within Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Over the last fourteen years, with the assistance from community groups, Auckland Council has been able to build a picture of long-tailed bat habitat across the city’s mosaic of urban, rural, planted-exotic and native land-use parcels. Using acoustic monitoring, over 100 locations across a range of habitats and land uses have found pekapeka, particularly in the south and west of the city limits, igniting significant interest from landowners and community conservation groups. This is proving to be particularly useful at a time where in a growing Auckland, pekapeka habitats are under pressure from an expanding human population.

Join Ben Paris, Senior Conservation Advisor at Auckland Council, as he talks about the ongoing projects aimed at ensuring the pekapeka has a better chance of surviving into the future, and how you can get involved in your community.

Ben holds a Bachelor of Science (Technology) from the University of Waikato. He began his career at the Waikato Regional Council, where he played a key role in the success of the Hamilton Halo project, which led to the successful reintroduction of tūī to suburban Hamilton. During this time, Ben developed a deep interest in New Zealand’s native bats, co-leading the establishment of Project Echo, which focuses on the conservation of these unique species.

Ben later transitioned to Auckland Council, where he played an instrumental role in launching a bat awareness movement. His expertise in community engagement and science communication helped bridge the gap between local communities and the scientific community. As a passionate advocate for Auckland’s biodiversity, Ben actively promotes bat conservation and works tirelessly towards creating pest-free communities, ensuring a thriving environment for native species.