12 year old Lil Cosslett from Wellington writes about helping to protect a patch of bush from goats by building a big, tall fence.
My dad Chris, belongs to the Wellington Natural heritage Trust and he is one of the volunteers that looks after a special area of land next door to Zealandia, in South Karori. It is a privately-owned but we were given permission to go in as we had some important work to do. It is surrounded by a 5.1 km long, 1.5 m high, goat proof fence.
But due to landslips and animals pushing and digging underneath, the fence has some holes that goats can get through.
Flynn and Lil look at a hole that goats have dug under the fence. Photo by Chris Cosslett
Me, my dad and my brother Flynn were there to fix some of these holes. The fence was built to protect the birds that fly over from Zealandia, and the regenerating native bush from wild goats, which are a serious pest in the area. The Wellington Natural Heritage Trust also controls possums, rats and mustelids.
Dad fixing the hole. Photo by Lil Cosslett
We learnt a lot about the local wildlife and the history of Wellington’s water supply. After we fixed the holes we went exploring. There is an old water supply structure that used to supply water to Wellington. “There was also a dead goat and it stunk!”
“We fixed all the holes that were there that day, but we will have to keep an eye on it because the goats will keep trying to get through,” said Dad.
Flynn and Lil pose with the fixed fence hole. Photo by Chris Cosslett
