St Kilda Marine Environment Trust

St Kilda Finance staff recently joined about 150 others in and around Dunedin for the Great Dunedin Coastal Clean-up, organised as part of the national Seaweek Festival. In addition to being one of the primary sponsors of Seaweek, St Kilda Finance also contributed a $1000 Seahorse Fund prize.

The sweltering 27 degrees heat did not deter the SKF staff from rolling their sleeves and getting on with the job at hand. 26 kg of rubbish was collected by the staff. Overall, more than 1100 kg of rubbish was removed from the coastline - ranging from microwaves, bottles, and car-parts.

Prizes were awarded to the ‘weirdest item’, ‘heaviest item’ and furthest travelled item’. These were awarded by Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, SKF CEO Alan Hewitt and SKF Chairman John Farry.


		Steve Broni is the new Trust Manager. He holds a BSc in marine biology (Glasgow) and an MSc in marine ornithology (Cape Town). He has a strong interest in conservation/wildlife and living history tour guide and trainer.

Tanya Jenkins, SKMET trustee capturing the attention of kids during a reading. Read more

Photo: Alice Cowdrey



Initial grants have been made in these areas as part of SKMETS’s year ending March 2008 commitments to New Zealand marine environment conservation.
Hector’s Dolphin’s Research:$5000 to researchers Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson to assist in the study of Hector’s Dolphins. Click here to read more . . . Healthy Harbour Watch: $1000 to Andrew Innes to provide assistance in the purchase of specialised instrumentation. Click here to read more . . . Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust: $1000 to assist in the purchase of seedings, which will then be used for restoring the penguin habitats. Click here to read more . . .		University Scholarship & Prizes: $10,000 to the Marine Science Departements of Otago and Canterbury Universities to assist students with their research in the marine field. Click here to read more . . . Department of Conservation: $1000 to assist DOC in providing veterinarian services for the seals (sea lions) around the Otago Harbour. Click here to read more . . . Seaweek: $5000 sponsorship contribution of National Seaweek. Click here to read more . . .



“One Ocean - It starts with me - Kotahi Moana - Ka timata mai I ahau”
Seaweek exists to increase awareness of our coastal environment, and encourage all of us to look after our local marine areas. Seaweek is a week filled with events celebrating our unique marine environment, encouraging individuals and communities to get involved in activities that promote its well being. New Zealand hosts 15,000km of coastline and has one of the largest ocean territories in the world. It's home to a fantastic and unique cross section of the world's known deep sea. Seaweek is coordinated by the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) and includes representatives from each region in New Zealand.		Seaweek is supported by the St Kilda Marine Environment Trust, Department of Conservation, Ministry of Fisheries, and the Ministry for the Environment. The marine emblem for Seaweek 2008 is the little blue penguin (korora). 'Little blues' are the smallest penguins in the world. They're found throughout Australasia but are threatened by human impact on their habitats. A subspecies - the White Flippered Penguin - is only found in Canterbury, and is also under threat. Living between ocean and land, the little blue penguin lives signifies the need for a healthy marine environment in its entirety.

Last Updated July 2008