Tour business gives back to the environment

West Coast eco-business Glacier Valley Eco Tours suffered a major hit during Covid’s lockdowns. DOC’s Jobs for Nature initiative proved to be a lifesaver for its owners.

Tash and Cliff Goodwin from Glacier Valley Eco Tours are passionate about their backyard. While the borders were closed due to Covid-19, they were quietly working together with other businesses and organisations to maintain and enhance their local environment.

Development West Coast (DWC) chief executive Heath Milne says it has been an incredibly difficult couple of years for businesses in Glacier Country, who have been hard hit by the border closures.

“During the downturn many local businesses have been putting in hard mahi through Department of Conservation’s Jobs for Nature programme as well as their own environmental initiatives.”

169 people in South Westland have been involved in Jobs for Nature at some point since the start of the programme, with 43 businesses registered with the initiative.

“We went from three tours per day to one per week. At times one per fortnight, then one per month. Some months we had had no tours at all,” says Tash Goodwin who with her husband Cliff have been running Glacier Valley Eco Tours since 2016.

“We were at around 2-3 percent of what we ‘normally’ would.”

DOC’s Jobs for Nature initiative has been a lifesaver for Tash and Cliff.

“We were the first company to trial run it, with Cliff building predator trap boxes in the DOC workshop in Franz Josef,” Tash says.

“We have been fixing access tracks through the bush, analysing predator footage, kiwi audio monitoring, running the Ōkārito Nursery, working in the nursery restoration area cutting gorse and planting trees – all work which follows on from our core business of nature guiding and is part of who we are.”

Their business provides personalised tours educating visitors on climate change, conservation, predator control.

“This is the perfect place to show that. We have seen first-hand the rapid retreat of both of our glaciers and it is heart breaking,” Tash said.

Giving back

Glacier Country Eco Tours has strong environmental credentials and provides opportunities for visitors to give back to the local environment and offset their travel to the area.

Since 2018, they have been running a predator trapping community project at Lake Matheson.

“We noticed a low bird song which we were sad about, as it is such a beautiful Jurassic area and at one time there would have been a deafening amount of bird song. 

“We named the project after our ‘Early Bird Tour’, which is a very early tour at the lake to catch the outstanding mountain reflections and the morning bird chorus.

“We have a core group of around ten dedicated volunteers, including kids – who are really into it. Visitors can donate toward the project through our local Franz Josef DOC office,” Tash says.

Five dollars from every person taking their ‘Early Bird’ tour of Lake Matheson goes towards the project.

They now have 115 traps in addition to 200 from DOC.

“It’s unrealistic to think we will eradicate pests here indefinitely with this project alone – it’s about education, and giving birds, invertebrates and lizards a bit more of a fighting chance. 

“Since our project started, DOC have released Rowi kiwi into this area which is fantastic, and we like to think we had some kind of help with that happening.”

More initiatives

Another environmental initiative Glacier Country Eco Tours is involved in is the Ōkārito Community Nursery.

“The nursery was initially formed in conjunction with DOC and Air New Zealand Environment Trust to restore Lake Wahapo’s ancient kahikatea swamp land and in turn protect all the ecosystems from the glaciers to the sea,” Tash says.

“It continued on to provide an extensive range of native plants for public and private sale. 

“We have a restoration area at the Ōkārito wharf. Initially it was full of gorse and blackberry, now it’s a flourishing native haven to fernbirds, kotuku, bellbirds, tui and others. 

To help offset the carbon footprint of their clients’ travel, they donate a native tree to each member on their ‘Ōkārito nature tour’ and show them how to plant it in the restoration area.

Despite the challenges Covid has presented, Tash and Cliff wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

“We live in Ōkārito next to the kiwi sanctuary. We have kiwi on our driveway at night, deer on our back lawn, fernbirds in the garden. The lagoon, beach, and rivers are close by for swimming and collecting seafood. 

“We have made lifelong friends and they are like family to us.

“Most people live in the cities and come here for a holiday. We live here and go to the city for a holiday. Well, I do, Cliff hates the city!”

For more on Glacier Valley Eco Tours go to: https://www.glaciervalley.co.nz/index.html

Photo credit: Jase Blair