Photo: Gemma scrambles over makatea during a seabird monitoring trip to Mangaia
This year I am continuing my placement with Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) as a Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) Conservation Officer, working on a range of environmental conservation initiatives across Rarotonga.
Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) is a New Zealand-based NGO that partners with communities throughout the Pacific to support locally driven initiatives. The organisation works across a range of sectors including health, education, and conservation. Volunteers contribute their skills while collaborating closely with host organisations. Placements often evolve over time in response to emerging priorities, and this past year has reflected that.
Contributing to seabird monitoring efforts as part of TIS’s Manu Tai o te Kūki ʻĀirani project has remained a core focus. The purpose of this project is to better understand elusive seabirds, particularly petrels and shearwaters on Rarotonga, Mangaia, and Atiu. Majority of these tubenose species arrive at their burrows at night and depart for the sea before sunrise, creating knowledge gaps about their presence and distribution. The project therefore aims to strengthen baseline data across the islands, which is essential for informed conservation management.
This work has involved hiking up many of Rarotonga’s peaks, including Te Ko’u, Te Manga, Mangetea Bluff, and Ikurangi, to install and service monitoring equipment. This equipment includes motion-sensor field cameras as well as Song Meter acoustic recorders, which capture sounds during peak seabird activity hours.
Processing acoustic recordings using specialised computer software has enabled the detection of Tropical Shearwaters, Tahiti Petrels, Herald Petrels, and Collared Petrels on Rarotonga. Camera trap analysis has also provided greater insight into individual seabird nesting behaviour, as well as the presence of invasive predators.
Confirmation of Tahiti Petrels (listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List) in areas where feral cats and rats are active has reinforced the vulnerability of ground burrow-nesting seabirds to predation. In response, the project has expanded to include predator control initiatives aimed at reducing pressure on these populations. It has been rewarding to be involved in the project from the initial monitoring phase through to predator control initiatives.
Other highlights of this project for me include an overnight trip up Te Ko’u, where we conducted seabird surveys, listening to the distinct calls of each species and attempting to determine their origin, whether heading in from the sea or from a nearby colony. Another memorable experience was a recent trip to Mangaia to service the monitoring equipment.
Alongside environmental work, this placement has also included involvement in the Maine Mura campaign, a reusable feminine hygiene initiative designed to improve access to sustainable menstrual products. The project supports greater dignity, affordability, and environmental responsibility by promoting reusable alternatives, reducing disposable waste whilst saving money.
Across the Pacific, VSA placements aim to strengthen local capacity and support resilience in the face of environmental and social challenges. At TIS, this currently means contributing across seabird monitoring, predator management, and community-based sustainability initiatives. I am so grateful to continue contributing to this work and to support the ongoing efforts taking place across these projects.