点评:For someone who loves birds ,nature , wildlife and conservation, this place is like stepping back through time , to an Aotearoa where the forest floor rustled with life, birdsong filled the canopy, and native wildlife evolved in a world without mammalian predators.
I have so many stories to tell (thanks to amazing Brian who have been volunteering here for 19 years! Wow ) , today felt especially significant. Thats why i cant wait to share and have to post 😅. I’d been waiting for more than a year to visit @sanctuary_mountain , and standing inside one of the world’s largest pest-proof ecological sanctuaries reminded me why conservation is one of humanity’s greatest acts of optimism.
As much as I marvelled at the kōkako calls, the 7 Kakas flying around us , the ancient trees, and the extraordinary engineering of the 47-kilometre predator-proof fence, 8,400 acres sanctuary , I found myself just as fascinated by the people. Thousands of volunteer hours, decades of ecological research, careful species monitoring, and a community that believed an ecosystem could be restored …not just in theory, but in practice.
One of the greatest lessons conservation has taught me is that knowledge creates connection. The more we understand how intricately everything is linked , the harder it becomes to look away. We don’t protect what we’re told to protect. We protect what we’ve learned to love.
I hope that one day, when I’m older and retired, I can spend even more of my time contributing to conservation. I’d love to keep learning, keep asking questions, and keep sharing stories that help others see the wonder I see. Because every person who falls in love with nature becomes another reason it has a future.
Thank you Brian and @sanctuary_mountain . See you again next year. We will visit every year whenever we are back in the North Island .And maybe one day i can finally see even just one of the 3 Kakapos here. Still hopeful . 🏔️🍃🪺
翻译:对于热爱鸟类、大自然、野生动植物以及环境保护的人来说,这里就如同穿越了时光隧道——回到了那个森林里生机盎然、鸟鸣声回荡在林间,本土野生动物在无哺乳动物天敌的环境中自由繁衍的奥特亚罗瓦。
我有太多故事要讲述了(这要归功于在这里义务服务了19年的了不起的布莱恩!太厉害了)。今天对我来说尤为特别,正因如此我迫不及待想要分享,必须发出来才行😅。我等待了一年多才得以造访@sanctuary_mountain。站在这个全球规模最大的防捕食者生态保护区内,我深切体会到为何保护自然是人类最具乐观精神的行为之一。
尽管我对卡卡鸟的鸣叫声、在我们身边飞舞的7只卡卡斯鸟、那些古老的树木,以及长达47公里、堪称工程奇迹的防捕食者围栏赞叹不已,但我同样被这里的人们深深吸引。数千小时的志愿工作、数十年的生态研究、细致的物种监测,以及一群坚信生态系统能够得到恢复的人们……这种恢复并非仅停留在理论上,而是切实可实现的。
自然保护带给我的最大启示就是:知识能促成情感联结。我们对事物间的相互联系了解得越深入,就越难以视而不见。我们不会去保护那些仅仅被命令要保护的东西,我们保护的是那些我们真心喜爱的事物。
我希望有朝一日……等我年纪再大些、退休之后,就能把更多时间投入到环保事业中。我渴望不断学习、不断提问,也愿意分享那些能帮助他人领略到我所感受到的大自然之美的故事。因为每一个爱上大自然的人,都是大自然得以延续下去的一份希望。
感谢布莱恩和@sanctuary_mountain。明年再见!今后只要回到北岛,我们每年都会来拜访。也许有一天,我终于能见到这里的三只鸮鹦鹉中的哪怕一只吧。我依然满怀希望。🏔️🍃🪺