A young woman came into the
nursery and told Henry that she had a few dollars to spend on some coastal
plants, and to be helpful he asked where she was going to plant them because as
he explained, coastal plantings pose certain difficulties with salt spray being
one of them. Most coastal areas are sandy, so the conditions are dry and as
well there is usually exposure to very strong winds.
Penguin Girl told Henry that
she was giving a helping hand to the Little Blue Penguins living and nesting along
the town’s foreshore. She started walking down there and noticed a lot of dead
penguins and that the ones that were alive had nowhere shelter other than in
industrial rubbish. Nobody was taking responsibility to keep those areas tidy
and she had seen penguins nesting under derelict buildings and amongst rubbish.
At the time, catchment boards
were encouraging farmers to remove gorse hedges and replant with suitable stock
shelter so Henry had all sorts of species available and Penguin Girl bought as
many as she could afford. He liked the ideas she had, so found some suitable
plants that were in need of repotting – he showed her how to cut the spiralled
roots rather than to tease them out because most native plants do not like
their roots disturbed.
Penguin Girl started writing
letters to the editor of the local paper trying to put pressure on the council
to tidy up the foreshore and she supplied some embarrassing photos. She was
rubbished of course as a silly young woman with a bee in her bonnet. It’s a
typical reaction when businesses and civic leaders are embarrassed and the snide
remarks directed at her persisted for years. But she was unbending.
Her letters also put pressure
on the various industries that were tipping their rubbish and effluent onto the
foreshore.
A bane for Penguin Girl was
stray dogs; they patrolled the foreshore for carrion and when they came upon a
penguin, they tore it to pieces leaving only a few feathers. Sometimes she
found carcasses that dogs had left uneaten and she presumed that these were
victims of domestic dogs, left to roam at night.
Letters and photos to the
paper followed and she continued to embarrass the civic leaders and dog owners.
Ant support for her cause was
mute, but somehow she managed to raise some funds and regularly bought plants
for her foreshore plantings. Henry usually discounted the price, gave extra
plants or gave the same deal for plants that needed repotting. She carried out
the planting work on her own and cared for them well, witnessed by Henry who
from time to time went to have a look, the survivals were good.
Penguin Girl’s campaign
eventually had an effect, and as well a separate awareness grew so the
businesses cleaned up their act on the foreshore, the civic leaders saw that
protection of the derelict buildings could boost tourism potential and income
and dog owners took responsibility for their pooches.
The Department of Conservation
arrived, ‘the protectors of all things natural’ (said in a deep, official
voice) and Penguin Girl was elbowed out of the picture.
A joint effort between the
Department of Conservation, civic leaders, and volunteers set up a new
enterprise utilizing the area Penguin Girl had planted and focused on the now
trendy small seabirds.
The visitor centre and little
blue penguin viewing area is now a leading business enterprise in the town.
Bringing tourists and income.
No commendation or thanks has
been directed towards Penguin Girl. She deserves a brass plaque erected in a prominent
place within the flash visitor centre!
It won’t happen, Penguin
Girl’s work has already been forgotten – almost.
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