Books and baking at Motupipi fair

Lead Free Kea Project

The Lead Free Kea Project is now underway in Golden Bay, a known hot spot for kea lead poisoning.

The aim of the project is to replace lead (which is mostly found in lead head nails and flashings in pre-1990s buildings) with non-toxic alternatives.

The replacement is an important one-off action intended to protect the health of the Bay’s kea population. The project is co-ordinated by the Kea Conservation Trust and predominantly funded by a Jobs for Nature grant, however, the trust is actively fundraising to pay for materials.

Although Adam Lowe Construction, which has taken on the task, has already converted a few buildings to a leadfree future, the trust’s community engagement coordinator Lisa Savage says there’s still a long way to go. “We have had a fantastic response from our community with over 100 buildings already on the list. It is going to take Adam some time to get through these but, if you are on the list, we have until December 31st to complete the project.”

Anyone who has a pre-1990s house, garage, or other building located in kea territory, and would like the lead professionally removed and replaced, should provide project co-ordinator Peter Fraser with their phone number and property address, via email: peter.fraser@ keaconservation.co.nz

And/or, for those who would like to contribute to the project to help pay for materials, the “donate” button is on the top right of the trust’s homepage at: https://www. keaconservation.co.nz