Blog
Pōhatu Penguins Regenerative eco-tours - Everything we do
Small or big, we believe that every action we take matters and will have an impact, which is why our enthusiastic team is always very keen on exploring new ways to do things.
Dive into all the actions we are taking to be a regenerative eco-touristic business, and join us on our journey.
It’s hard to explain what regenerative tourism is. But we can explain what a regenerative business looks like to us.
It’s a business that gives back more than it takes from the local environment and community. It’s alive and creative, it’s resilient and constantly changing, it has balance and harmony, and it contributes to the well-being of the larger system of which it is part.
Pōhatu Penguins Eco-tourism business regenerative journey started many years ago with Shireen Helps - you can read about it here: Pōhatu Penguins regenerative Eco-tours. How it started and Shireen’s influence.
It now coordinates and financially supports the below.
It’s a business that gives back more than it takes from the local environment and community. It’s alive and creative, it’s resilient and constantly changing, it has balance and harmony, and it contributes to the well-being of the larger system of which it is part.
Pōhatu Penguins Eco-tourism business regenerative journey started many years ago with Shireen Helps - you can read about it here: Pōhatu Penguins regenerative Eco-tours. How it started and Shireen’s influence.
It now coordinates and financially supports the below.
Key actions we take for the environment.
The word ‘environment’ has many definitions depending on its context; for us, it simply means the natural world around us, with us included as part of its one big interconnected system. We have many ways of playing our part in nature’s system.
Everyone in our team is wildly passionate about the environment; therefore, our top priority has, and will always be, preserving our unique and precious wildlife in the bay and across the peninsula.
Everyone in our team is wildly passionate about the environment; therefore, our top priority has, and will always be, preserving our unique and precious wildlife in the bay and across the peninsula.
- We are rewilding Pōhatu’s covenants – Native tree planting with eco-sourced trees.
- We have a small tree nursery on-site in Pōhatu. Called Shireen’s Nursery.
- We are helping the farm fence off ecologically important areas, using Pōhatu staff and coordinating volunteers when needed.
- Predator control – The biggest job we do. 197 predator traps across 1000-acre farmland are serviced weekly in summer, spring, autumn and fortnightly in winter. This ongoing trapping has been taking place for over 35 years. We will continue to fund trappers' wages, cost of materials, transport cost, bait, tools and trapping workshops.
- Kororā rehabilitation
- Transport of penguins to rehabilitation sites and the South Island Wildlife Hospital in Christchurch.
- Hand rearing orphaned penguin chicks
- Funding rehabbers' wages, material costs, cleaning equipment, penguin food and vitamins.
- Wētā and gecko monitoring, assisting Lincoln University conservation research day
- We build wildlife nest boxes for Kororā/little penguins, Ruru/owl, titipounamu/Riffleman. Wētā hotels - Providing habitat and nesting opportunities around Pōhatu. Staff wages, equipment.
- We compost biowaste food scraps on-site at Pōhatu’s farmstay accommodations and at our Pōhatu office/shop in Akaroa.
- In 2012, we were the first single-use plastic-free office/shop in Akaroa.
- We purchase all our cleaning products for our accommodation, office and penguin rehab from a local shop: Nomad Wholefoods in Akaroa, refilling and reusing our old plastic bottles. Eg. toilet cleaners, cleaning sprays, dishwashing liquids, etc. This eliminates countless plastic bottles.
- Our baking supplies for our Wildside discovery tour. Afternoon Tea and home-baked goodies - we source from an organic shop and use locally sourced free-range eggs. Refilling, no plastic waste.
- We often use the work van to carpool Pōhatu’s children to school. This eliminates the need for 4 separate vehicles daily.
- We use the work vans to carpool volunteers for other local conservation projects. Eg. Tree planting in Stony Bay and the Banks Peninsula Kororā survey, and sometimes local school events.
- Accreditation
- Qualmark Gold Tourism operator recognising our business as leading the way in making the New Zealand tourism industry a world-class class sustainable visitor destination
- Tiaki promise (the promise to preserve New Zealand for future generations)
- We are a DoC SMART-approved operator. A volunteer program.
- DoC-approved operators, holding a Marine Mammal permit.
- We hold a permit to rehabilitate penguins.
- We are a Gold member donors to the South Island Wildlife Hospital.
- Our eco-tours. Advocacy and education while on tour.
The tours to Pōhatu provide something we believe to be pretty special. Many of our guests will be travelling all around NZ. This is always an opportunity for our passionate staff to share their knowledge and showcase how to behave appropriately around NZ wildlife - from the rules and regulations of a marine reserve to how to watch wildlife with the least disturbance. We set an example with camouflage clothing, staying on the tracks, staying in a hide, keeping quiet, keeping the correct distances and understanding why that’s important.
Guests can learn about conservation and ways they can help our wildlife and environment as they travel. Eg, from choosing DoC-approved operators or using the seafood watch app in a restaurant, we believe having an experience with us makes a difference.
Conservation Research and Advocacy.
The scientific aspect of our work has grown into a vital part of the project in recent years. It is broadening our understanding of the Kororā and their lives, enabling us to provide them with the best possible levels of protection heading into the future. This knowledge is becoming ever more important in helping us prepare for and attempt to mitigate against the uncontrollable effects of climate change.
Supporting science and advocacy for conservation almost fits into another category, but here’s what we do.
Supporting science and advocacy for conservation almost fits into another category, but here’s what we do.
- Cover all transport costs for the Helps Pōhatu Conservation Trust research team - to help with the Pōhatu project of tracking Kororā at sea and weekly monitoring of the colony.
- Provide wages for one Pōhatu staff member to join the weekly monitoring team.
- Provide free accommodation for the research team and students from the University of Canterbury and the University of Otago.
- Communicating the science and advocating for conservation – Wages to a video producer to film and produce short informational vlogs on what the Helps Pōhatu Conservation Trust does. (2023- 2024.) Continues (2024- 2025)
- Latest research results shared on social media (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Newsletters) and our website, so it’s open to our local community to see how the project and penguins are doing.
- Provide an office free of charge for the Helps Pōhatu Conservation Trust head researcher, Dr Rachel Hickcox, and storage space for the trust’s research equipment.
- Organise and coordinate Kororā surveys – covering transport costs, volunteers’ snacks, and accommodations.
Community and Outreach
Part of being a regenerative business means having your local community benefit from you being there. Would they miss our business if it were gone?
We want our local community to take pride in what we are doing and feel part of it. It is very important to us as we hope it will secure the future of our conservation projects. By particularly engaging with the next generation, we hope we can encourage young people to feel equally connected to the natural world.
Here are some of the things we have been up to in our local community.
We want our local community to take pride in what we are doing and feel part of it. It is very important to us as we hope it will secure the future of our conservation projects. By particularly engaging with the next generation, we hope we can encourage young people to feel equally connected to the natural world.
Here are some of the things we have been up to in our local community.
- We organised and coordinated a free weekly Akaroa kids conservation club in 2023. Coordinators’ wages were covered by Pōhatu penguins, and we had use of the pavilion building, kindly provided for free by the Christchurch City Council.
- This was an amazing programme which pulled together other organisations like the Duvauchelle Men’s Shed, Project Jona, Pest Free Banks Peninsula, Akaroa Dolphins, and lovely parent volunteers.
- (2019 – 2025 ongoing) We run a conservation-based school holiday program in Pōhatu. Every school holiday, we spend 1 to 2 days with up to 20 kids on conservation, monitoring, eco-art, activities and learning games, hiking or kayaking. Getting kids in nature and getting them doing hands-on conservation. Since 2019, we have planted over 200 trees with the kids, as well as built nesting areas for Kororā and other native birds such as Riffleman.
- Work closely with our local schools with hands-on conservation and science, advocacy and education with free field trips to Pōhatu. Duvauchelle School, Akaroa Area School and Okains Bay School.
- On request, Pōhatu staff visit the local schools for conservation education and advocacy. Wages, transport and equipment are covered by us.
- We have also gone further afield with 3 of our staff spending time doing presentations and activities at Mt Pleasant school in Christchurch, as well as Diamond Harbour school.
- We take part in events for conservation advocacy in Christchurch, with wages and transport are covered by us.
- Children’s University,
- Days of Ice/ Explore,
- Tūranga public library
- Speaking 4 the Planet
- Christchurch Enviro Kids at the Botanic Garden.
- Working in collaboration with the Blue Cradle foundation
- Organise and coordinate events for Seaweek – with the Akaroa Sea Week Fair and Marine science nights. Wages and venue hire are covered by us.
- Donate prizes to charities and fundraising. Eg, Red Cross, Local schools, Akaroa karate club, speaking for the planet, Cancer society, etc.
- Donate funds to help sponsor local organisations. Eg. Akaroa Community Arts Council for French Fest landing, and their new eco–arts school holiday programme. And Akaroa Community Dance Club.
- Artist retreats and Pōhatu tour gift vouchers for the Akaroa Community Arts Council to thank their guest speakers from RAWA.
- Our office shop only sells locally NZ-made arts, crafts, and gifts. Or upcycled and second-hand goods, working with local artisans.
- Continuing to develop a family-to-family relationship with our local Runanga – Koukourarata.
- Collaborating and working with other local businesses. Combining tours and activities. Helping each other out.
- Winter package – 2 nights and 2 activities with the Akaroa Waterfront motel, Akaroa Stargazing and a Pōhatu Nature tour combo.
- The Akaroa Wildlife Pass with BlackCat Cruises and the Shamarra Alpaca farm.
- Organising the kids’ conservation club to experience the harbour with Akaroa Dolphins, which was kindly donated.
- Working with the International Antarctic Centre for special events.
- The local Akaroa produce tour combines French Peak Vineyard, the Takamatua Olive grove and Akaroa gin-tasting, local businesses working together. Teamwork makes the dream work. (2018 – 2024)
- And coming soon... 2025 (hopefully summer season) - an interactive mini-museum with a conservation focus on Kororā. Films will be played throughout the day as a nice rainy-day activity. With a computer set up for a virtual tour of Pōhatu, exploring a 3D interactive world, as well as Pōhatu Minecraft education for kids and activities, art and information around the space.