In Pursuit of Champions : The Inspiring Story of the Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre

For nearly three decades, Ihave lived beside an estuary. Gleaming shell banks beneath vaulting sky, the clockwork pulse of tides and seasons, and vast muddy flats stocked with birds these represent home. It is an attachment Icherish, a sense of place and fascination, continually renewed. But it was not always so. Like many New Zealanders, Iwas once quite unaware of the value of such places.

So begins In Pursuit of Champions, the captivating story of Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre. For nearly 50years, the Pukorokoro Miranda Naturalists' Trust has worked to inspire interest in our coastal wetlands and the biodiversity they support. Each year, its Shorebird Centre at Pukorokoro, on the Firth of Thames, attracts thousands of visitors.

Author Keith Woodley, as centre manager, has been involved in all aspects of the Trust and its work. In his absorbing and often moving book part history, part memoir he charts the life and times of this tiny but mighty voluntary organisation. It'sthe story of how, driven by the importance of coastal conservation and that of its birdlife, a group of passionate and dedicated people built something from nothing, creating a globally recognised hub for shorebird protection and advocacy all from an obscure rural corner of a little country at the bottom of the world.