A kids' shelter at Te Anau's bird sanctuary is being designed with community input from the ground up.

Fiordland's tamariki are helping to shape an upcoming all-weather shelter in the heart of Te Anau's bird sanctuary.

Unsurprisingly, the adults leading the project say the brainstorming ideas are "amazing" and have already shaped the concept. 

Department of Conservation community ranger Crystal Brindle said the project emerged thanks to a donation from Te Anau restaurant The Fat Duck to the sanctuary. 

Sanctuary staff suggested the donation be used to erect a shelter for park visitors to use during inclement weather, group activities, and simply to encourage people to spend more time at the sanctuary.

"The idea was floated that this should be a community-designed shelter. So instead of us sitting here and going 'yep, I think should look like this,' we thought why don't we actually bring it to the users of the shelter so we can really make it work the best that it can for our community?'," Miss Brindle said.

DOC staff held a brainstorming workshop in June that brought together not only the adults in the room — such as Environment Southland, EnviroSchools, Kids Restore the Kepler, and project architects Design and Make — but also 17 students from Te Anau Primary School, Mararoa School, and Fiordland College.

An aerial view of Punanga Manu o Te Anau Bird Sanctuary. PHOTO: Bill Jarvie

So far, a shade sail element and see-through slatting to both protect visitors and still keep the shelter open were key elements for the final design. 

However, incorporating ideas around energy and water into the design also came through loud and clear from the kids, Miss Brindle said. 

"The students have been really interested in water," she said. 

"The water that's falling on the roof, what can we do with that? Can we use it to turn a wheel and make some sort of energy?... All sorts of ideas have been around water so that's going to be included, we're just not sure how."

In fact, the ideas had been "so good and so big" the project had been put into stages to develop the more detailed elements at later dates.

For now, the basic setup of the shelter was set to be built in November, with more additions to come after. Even a fun building project made for a good learning opportunity about the realities of construction.

"We want this to be a learning opportunity for the kids as well. This is the practicality of actually what building is all about. We can get this done now, but we've got to do this stuff later."

Miss Brindle said the project had an open invitation for anyone interested to get involved.

"The ideas that have come through are just incredible. So, the more partners we're able to actually get involved in this, the more we'll be able to hopefully action those ideas and make them a reality."

Those interested in getting involved with the shelter project can contact Miss Brindle at [email protected] or 027-247-6453.