en-equip (a subsidiary of Setpoint Solutions Ltd) has entered into a partnership with the Department of Conservation in Otago to preserve and enhance one of New Zealand's most distinctive herpetofauna species, the Jewelled Gecko.
The Otago Peninsula is home to important populations of this threatened gecko, which is currently classified under the DOC classification system as Gradual Decline (human induced). In recognising its plight, en-equip is sponsoring the project by making $12,000 available for the 2009-10 financial year.
This will be spent in three ways:
Commissioning a survey that will show what changes in habitat and land use there have been since a similar survey in the 1982. The resulting comparison will be very useful for DOC, local authorities and landowners interested in protecting the species. Assisting a local volunteer with his work in habitat renewal and population monitoring; his current work is the most intensive work being carried out on any jewelled gecko population. This will come in the form of digital photographic equipment and other essential aids that will allow analysis of jewelled gecko by modern methods. Vital population trends will be gauged as a result of this work. Updating and reprinting the jewelled gecko brochure with the latest information. This will be useful for peninsula land owners and others - including local conservation groups - interested in the species' preservation.
en-equip staff will also be involved in work days at jewelled gecko sites where monitoring and habitat improvement is taking place. We will work alongside DOC staff and local volunteers alike.
The aim of the whole project is to increase awareness of this very special South Island species and to ensure its survival in an area it has long been associated with. The en-equip sponsorship will help ensure that this is the case.
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