Media release

Hamilton Zoo visitors invited to write words on a wing

Posted On: Thursday, 1 July 2010

An unusual type of bird has landed at Hamilton Zoo just in time for the school holidays, as part of the ‘Words on a Wing’ Shout Out campaign, coordinated by the Department of Conservation.

A 3m-long kakapo made of steel and mesh will be perched at the Hamilton Zoo reception for the next two weeks, during which time young visitors to the facility will be invited to write messages to world leaders on giant cardboard feathers and attach them to the kakapo’s frame. An International Year of Biodiversity initiative, it is an opportunity for young people to tell world leaders why biodiversity is important, what they want them to do about it and what they intend to do themselves.

The messages will then be gathered up from Hamilton Zoo and other locations around the country and taken to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 10^th meeting in Japan in October.

Hamilton Zoo director Stephen Standley said the ‘Words on a Wing’ initiative is a good opportunity to engage with young people and educate them about biodiversity and the importance of protecting our native animals, plants and ecosystems.

“To many young people ‘biodiversity’ may just be a big word that they don’t necessarily understand, however by linking the kakapo with this campaign it puts a local angle on a global issue and raises awareness of the importance of protecting and investing in our natural environment and wildlife,” he said.

The kakapo is one of nearly 3000 New Zealand species under threat of extinction and there are currently just over 100 of these endemic birds left.

For more information on the ‘Words on a Wing’ Youth Shout Out is available on the Department of Conservation website, www.doc.govt.nz