Help rare species affected by Kaikoura earthquakes

There are three critically endangered species where there are grave fears that the earthquakes could have caused their extinction: eyelash seaweed, lettuce liverwort and Chalk Range cress.

The eyelash seaweed is tiny, literally the size of your eyelash, but is of huge importance to life on earth. The eyelash seaweed is truly ancient, thought to be similar to life on earth when it first evolved to be more than one cell in size. It has a very simple primitive structure and is unlike any other seaweed in existence. It is also one of the rarest species in New Zealand, growing on only two boulders along the Kaikoura coastline. Please support efforts to assess, and possibly save this 'dinosaur' of seaweeds. You can help efforts to save the smallest, rarest, most unusual victim of the Kaikoura earthquakes!

There are also huge impacts on the only breeding colonies of Kaikoura's endangered Hutton's shearwater, on nursery areas for declining NZ fur seals, and there are likely impacts on endangered cliff-dwelling giant weta and black-eyed gecko.

We do not yet know the effect on the other 83 endangered plants, several endangered birds and an unknown number of insect species that are known to inhabit the area. Some of which only occur within this region.

There are likely exclosure fences that will need to be repaired, weeds controlled, and the sites will need experts to go out and assess damage which will require fuel, labour, vehicle hire, and accommodation.

Your Givealittle donation will help to give Kaikoura’s most threatened species a fighting chance. Big or little, every contribution counts. Thank you for making a difference.