Saving Our Kea
Committed to preserving Aotearoa's alpine parrot
Hidden in the mountains of the South, where snow-covered peaks are starkly contrasted by the deep hues of evergreen forestry, is the home of the world only alpine parrot, the kea. Curious, bold and intelligent in nature, the kea, clever as they may be, are a nationally endangered species (the second-highest threat level in New Zealand), which is why we're excited to announce our partnership with the Kea heroes of the South Island, the Kea Conservation Trust (KCT).
With only 7,000 keas remaining in the wild, the KCT has made it their mission to protect and preserve kea in their natural habitats. Part of this mission includes embarking on a project to remove lead flashings and nail-heads from the roofs of buildings in areas where it’s accessible to kea and replacing these with safe, non-toxic alternatives. The programme will largely focus on privately owned buildings at front country sites (i.e. around human habitation) which are known hotspots for lead poisoning in kea and will be a free service to landowners. As a not for profit organisation, this is an expensive and time-consuming project for KCT which is where we step in as a supporter.
A Dimond Partnership
Our involvement with the Kea Conservation Trust includes contributing to the material costs of the project, as well as the lead-reduction process which will be carried out by Dimond’s preferred installers of architectural products, the RoofingSmiths. Nicholas Wheadon, Fletcher Steel’s Head of Sales says:
“The Kea Conservation Trust and the work they do is close to my heart and a cause that fits well our values at Dimond® Roofing. We have a growing focus on the environment, and supporting this project immediately made sense to us, especially as it will be utilising our own RoofingSmith installers and apprentices. We see this project as a cornerstone to a longer-term relationship with The Kea Conservation Trust and another steppingstone towards supporting our environment and communities.”
Equally excited about the partnership is the KCT co-founder, Tamsin Orr-Walker who says:
“This collaboration is a major conservation win for kea. We are very excited to be working with Dimond® Roofing who are partnering with us to ensure this threat to kea is removed from their environment- forever.”
Watch this space to keep an eye out for updates on the de-leading project and for a few fun initiatives we'll be running in support of the KCT, helping to save the Kea. For more information about the Kea Conservation Trust visit: keaconservation.co.nz
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