A waddle of 501 penguins visited a Dunedin mall yesterday. Papier-mache penguins that is.
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins and city councillors Sophie Barker and Steve Walker joined the author of PenguinKind, Carolyn Managh, at the Golden Centre Mall to paint little penguins made from end-of-run paper from the Otago Daily Times.
The project is in support of Ms Managh’s book that will be launched next week and includes 501 actions people can carry out to live more sustainably, as well as penguin stories written by University of Otago zoology researcher Dr Thomas Mattern.
The life-size penguins will go on a road trip of the North Island, in an electric car, to communicate the impact humans’ actions can have on nature.
"So many people want to be doing more but they just don’t know what to do," Ms Managh said.
"The penguin is the indicator species for ocean health. Every single action humans make will ultimately impact, either positively or negatively, a penguin."
It took five months for a team of volunteers to make the penguins.
The painting process was delayed in March due to Covid-19 restrictions, but Ms Managh hoped Dunedin residents would stop by the mall this weekend to help finish them.
Mr Hawkins said it was important people felt there was something they could do individually to help fix the natural environment.
"[Individual action] gives people a greater sense of agency in our natural environment and will more likely lead on to them pushing for the bigger structural and systemic changes we need to deal with a biodiversity crisis and climate crisis."
He commended the book for directly contributing to the conservation of endangered species, as most of the proceeds from copies sold in New Zealand will go to the Global Penguin Society.
