Beth Bryant: Champion for birds, biodiversity and our environment

December 13th, 2010
By David Armstrong

"I don't see why you would want to profile me," Beth says. "There are plenty of other people who are more interesting." Such is Beth Bryant's shyness that you may think it would be easy to persuade her to not worry so much about our environment. You would be wrong.

As Motueka's representative on the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand (along with husband Tony) she is driving locally an agenda she fervently believes in.

"Individually - and I am speaking for myself here too - we need to learn to recognise, respect, treasure and learn how to take responsibility for the wellbeing of the natural values that we in Motueka are encircled with.

"If we wish to retain our biodiversity, ecosystem health and agreeable environment we need to learn to cherish our environment in a way that is respectful, beneficial and encouraging towards it."

And not only does she speak about it whenever she can, with Tony she has put words into action through work to regenerate the Raumanukas (Kumaras) with authentic coastal planting which will encourage the native birds to once again thrive.

Beth was brought up in Mahana - her family farmed and worked in the region for generations - and attended Nelson Girls College where she developed an interest in the natural sciences. But early on she had a grounding in environmental concerns through her parents.

"On the farm we had cows, pigs, sheep, chooks, boysenberries and a paddock of peas for Christmas," she says. "My mother was environmentally conscious - I guess I've learned some things from her."

Back in those days awareness of environmental impacts of industry was scant, but she says that looking back she saw farming practices which nowadays we recognise as both good and bad. Her father often experimented with now ideas that turned out to be very sound environmentally. For example, she remembers an uncle who tried planting his orchard in grass - a first at the time - and how he showed the improvement in the soil quality and retention that resulted.

"I remember my father saying they would regret watering the Waimea Plains because the salt will run up and the river will run out of water, and that's exactly what's happened."

Beth went on to work in various jobs and some organisations related to natural science. She met Tony, a lecturer and engineer, while working as an electron microscope operator in a laboratory at Canterbury University. They married and moved to Auckland, where he taught and she did laboratory work with NZ Forest Products.

"To keep us sane we bought 50 acres of hillside regenerating bush in the Coromandel, which we loved. We were given three old baches which we pulled down and Tony designed and built one new bach for ourselves out of the pieces we reclaimed."

During this time they bore two children and life moved on as a mixture of working and family activities along with the regenerating bush project.

"In the later years possums were eating the bush until only the tips were left with leaves on, so we set up three bait stations," she says. "The rata started flowering again and almost all the trees regrew. We were very pleased."

Beth's other great interest, pottery and related crafts, were also developed through her adulthood and provided some extra income. Although her fingers are not quite up to it these days, creative craft work remains an enduring passion - along with the birds.

As they approached retirement age, about eight years ago Beth and Tony spent a couple of years driving around the country looking for the best place to retire and chose Motueka. Their home down on Motueka Quay offers a delightful view across the estuary to the sandspit and access to great bird watching.

Since moving here Beth and Tony became very active members of Forest & Bird - something they could do together. "My interest in biodiversity is pretty strong at the moment," says Beth. "When we found out about some of the serious issues we became pretty passionate about it." She believes all humans have an obligation to care for all living things, not just people.

Biodiversity (meaning: fostering a full spectrum of animal and plant life unaffected by man's attempt to control and limit nature) is declining nationwide and in fact worldwide, she says. "It's going to cost more to retain biodiversity than it'll cost to control carbon. We're losing our pollen, we're losing so many other things. We need to cost in the services that biodiversity provides. It costs less to keep it than to replace it.

"Even the ground can't absorb what we're trying to put on it in activities such as dairying. The last few years we've lost more biodiversity to the increase in dairying than what was lost when the first settlers came here. And DOC doesn't have the money to look after biodiversity properly."

She would like to see people respecting our birdlife more. "We need to love birds more than we love our dogs. People are still taking their dogs beyond the 'No dogs' sign on the sandspit, and we have horses on the spit. But it's mainly that people don't understand the distress signs that the birds show."

But it's not all doom and gloom for Beth. She has a positive outlook on enjoying life, learning more about her world and using her artistic talents.

"I'm enjoying finding out about the local plants and especially love the beautiful small-leaved ones, which glisten when covered in dewdrops. I'm enjoying the challenge involved in finding out how to get the more difficult ones to grow well."

Key to this is the work she and Tony are doing for the Raumanukas Reserve. With a group of willing helpers they have voluntarily planted out 4000 native coastal plants and have another 2000 potted (by Beth) in their garden "nursery" awaiting the 2011 planting season (see the photo above).

"I love the reserve. The site is beautiful and restful. And I enjoy the people who come to the planting days." She has also been active on the book-keeping, reporting and documentation side, for that project and also for Forest & Bird in its frequent submissions to Council regarding the environmental impacts of various new developments. But she admits she's getting tired of the paperwork side and would very much like someone else to relieve her of those tasks.

She is full of praise for the expertise shown by some Council staff, and other local experts including Don Graves at ATET.

As the huge amount of work involved in preparing plants for the Raumanukas approaches its end (no more funding is available), Beth expects to have more time to further develop her interest in crafts, painting and "soft sculpture". She likes learning new skills.

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