Schoolchildren Promote Kiwi Road Signs

Forest and Bird, Issue 297, 1 August 2000, Page 9

Schoolchildren Promote Kiwi Road Signs

—Dee Pigneguy

hildren from Kerikeri Primary School are responsible for the unusual ‘kiwi road signs’ along the roadsides on Kerikeri Peninsula, Bay of Islands. Pam Scahill, the associate principal, says her students got involved with environmental issues through the school’s ‘community problem-solving’ programme, when they chose to make people in their community aware of the plight of the kiwi. An area of particular concern was the coastal bush-covered southern side of Kerikeri Peninsula which is habitat for an estimated population of 40 brown kiwi. It was in this area that new housing development was taking place, decreasing the kiwi habitat while introducing builders, contractors and labourers, and urban pets. Increased road traffic also meant more kiwi road kills, and the kiwi outlines along the road mark these spots.

These children have become committed conservationists, proud of the part they played in raising awareness of the value of having kiwi habitat in their community. They hope the signs will be a constant reminder to motorists to drive at a speed which allows them to stop in time, should they see a kiwi in their headlights.