Forest & Bird Magazine 390 Summer 2023

TE REO O TE TAIAO NEW

ZEALAND’S

INDEPENDENT

VOICE

FOR

№ 390  SUMMER 2023

FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE What next for conservation?

NATURE

•

EST.

1923

Contents ISSUE 390 • Summer 2023

Editorial

2 Facing the future 4 Letters + competition winners

News

6 Double your money 8 Marine reserves win 9 Briefing new Ministers, Bird of the Century

10 Ban the browsers 11 Hauraki Gulf trawling 12 Centennial events update

Cover

14 Future of conservation, DOC funding

16 Oceans, climate, iwi-led

conservation, partnerships

18 Townscapes, technology, freshwater, nature-based solutions

20 Top of the waterfall, 10 priority actions

Branch

22 Kōkako Rotoehu Forest 33 Tī Kōuka award winners

Predator-free NZ 24 Cat Management Act 54 Saving shore plover

Research

26 Myrtle rust latest

Biodiversity

27 Red admirals in Auckland 32 A guide to bird calls

Everyday heroes

28 I restored a native forest

Freshwater 30 Wai ora course

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Rachel Walker. This is the last of our four custom centennial covers and represents the future of conservation. Te Reo o te Taiao is Forest & Bird’s official te reo name. It means voice of nature.

PAPER ENVELOPE Pīwauwau rock wren.

Jeremy Sanson. RENEWAL Pepe para riki common copper butterfly.

Donald Laing

Thank you for supporting us! Forest & Bird is

EDITOR Caroline Wood E editor@forestandbird.org.nz

email membership@forestandbird.org.nz

COVER SHOT Colour Burst Kea

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Rob Di Leva, Dileva Design E rob@dileva.co.nz PRINTING Webstar www.webstar.co.nz PROOFREADER David Cauchi

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Karen Condon T 0275 420 338 E karen.condon@xtra.co.nz MEMBERSHIP & CIRCULATION T 0800 200 064 E membership@forestandbird.org.nz

New Zealand’s largest and oldest independent conservation charity.

Join today at www.forestandbird.org.nz/joinus or or call 0800 200 064.

Every member receives four copies of Forest & Bird magazine a year.

Forest & Bird is published quarterly by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Registered at PO Headquarters, Wellington, as a magazine. ISSN 0015-7384 (Print), ISSN 2624-1307 (Online). Copyright: All rights reserved. Opinions expressed by contributors in the magazine are not necessarily those of Forest & Bird.

Forest & Bird is printed on elemental chlorine-free paper made from FSC® certified wood fibre and pulp from responsible sources.

Forest & Bird Centennial

Urban conservation

Books

Year in review

Market place

36 Ngaheretuku and Atawhai

46 Highlights and wins 2023

38 Westland petrel colony

Leaving a legacy

Last word

Centennial stories

Parting shot

34 Nature’s future and Bushy Park Tarapuruhi Whenua

In the field 40 Cuckoo chaos

Our people

42 Ted Firth 52 Mike Harding, Loder Cup winner

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CONTACT NATIONAL OFFICE Forest & Bird National Office Ground Floor, 205 Victoria Street Wellington 6011 PO Box 631, Wellington 6140 T 0800 200 064 or 04 385 7374 E office@forestandbird.org.nz W www.forestandbird.org.nz

44 Kiwi in the capital

53 Free will service for members

56 Children in conservation: Birth of Kiwi Conservation Club

60 Holiday reads 62 Classifieds

64 Kauri gold

IBC Pīpipi brown pipit

Our Partners 59 Go Media

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CONTACT A BRANCH See www.forestandbird.org.nz/ branches for a full list of our 50 Forest & Bird branches.

www.facebook.com/ ForestandBird @forestandbird @Forest_and_Bird www.youtube.com/ forestandbird

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. Forest & Bird is a registered charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005. Registration No CC26943.

PATRON Her Excellency The Rt Honourable Dame Cindy Kiro, GNZM, QSO Governor-General of New Zealand CHIEF EXECUTIVE Nicola Toki PRESIDENT Mark Hanger TREASURER Alan Chow BOARD MEMBERS Chris Barker, Bruce Clarkson, Kaya

Freeman, Kate Graeme, Ben Kepes, Vanessa Macdonald, Nigel Thomson CONSERVATION AMBASSADORS Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton DISTINGUISHED LIFE MEMBERS Graham Bellamy, Linda Conning, Philip Hart, Joan Leckie, Hon. Sandra Lee-Vercoe, Carole Long, Peter Maddison, Sir Alan Mark, Gerry McSweeney, Craig Potton, Fraser Ross, Eugenie Sage, Guy Salmon, Lesley Shand

EDITORIAL

FACING THE FUTURE

L

ast month, Ministers announced the creation of six new marine reserves along the south-east coast of Te Waipounamu, the South Island.

These are the first marine reserves ever to be established south of the Banks Peninsula and are to be applauded. Covering 400km2, they will increase the area under full protection around Aotearoa New Zealand’s mainland by two-thirds.

Living in the deep south, I am fully aware that dedicated marine advocates have been fighting for more than 40 years to achieve some form of protection for the Otago and Southland ocean environment.

We can celebrate the nearly decade-long efforts of Forest & Bird to achieve these new reserves, and, in particular, retired Otago and Southland regional manager Sue Maturin, who represented environmental interests on the South-East Marine Protected Area Forum (see page 8).

But we are still woefully short of the 30% that is recognised as necessary to turn the tide on biodiversity loss in our marine world.

While these reserves will protect some feeding grounds for hoiho yellow-eyed penguins, they will do little to address the wider malaise the species is facing.

Hoiho live throughout this region. It’s generally acepted they will become extinct on mainland Aotearoa within 20 years unless something dramatic is done.

Just as the tipping point with climate change may have already passed, it is likely we are already too late to save this taonga species.

One of the reasons I joined Forest & Bird was to save species such as hoiho. That we are failing or have failed is a devastating blow for our biodiversity and to me personally.

It is a damning indictment on us as New Zealanders, an indictment on our collective national “she’ll/he’ll be right” attitude, and an indictment on our government’s marine conservation agencies.

Forty years ago, it would have been unthinkable to consider letting hoiho, a species so special to Aotearoa that it features on our $5 note, vanish from our shores.

I guess what’s most frustrating is that ensuring our unique biodiversity thrives is very achievable, and it doesn’t mean we all have to forgo a very liveable lifestyle.

It will take resolve, real leadership, all of society valuing nature, and recognising that, without it, we and our mokopuna will not survive.

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A new Prime Minister will be leading the country by the time this magazine reaches your mailbox, and Forest & Bird will be working hard to ensure his government doesn’t just carry on “balancing” conservation and the economy.

The economy and human survival depend on securing a vibrant, self-sustaining, and rich global biodiversity.

Forest & Bird has achieved much during our first century, especially in the terrestrial space, with a third of Aotearoa New Zealand’s land protected in the public conservation estate.

In our second century, we must focus on the climate and ocean protection, and build a strong conservation voice to create space for governments to act.

We will continue to move forward together armed with hope and science-based policies, in the way we have done for the past 100 years. Our marine world, in particular, needs us more than ever.

Ngā manaakitanga

Mark Hanger Forest & Bird President Perehitini, Te Reo o te Taiao

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LETTERS YOUR FEEDBACK Forest & Bird welcomes your thoughts on conservation topics. Please email letters up to 200 words, with your name, home address, and phone number, to editor@ forestandbird.org.nz, or by post to the Editor, Forest & Bird magazine, 205 Victoria Street, Wellington 6011, by 1 February 2024. We don’t always have space to publish all letters or use them in full. Opinions expressed on the Letters page are not necessarily those of Forest & Bird.

RIDING ROUGHSHOD I was very disappointed to read about the 4WD drivers “riding roughshod” over beach and riverbed areas where protected native wading birds are nesting, causing deaths and destruction of eggs and newborn chicks (Spring 2023). It would appear signs warning that vulnerable protected birds are nesting is simply an excuse for these selfish prats to just charge ahead anyway, with no concern for anything or anyone other than their own destructive agenda. Isn’t there supposed to be a climate crisis, or am I missing something here? I know I’m not the only one to be frustrated and annoyed that the law seems to be an ass and only appears to favour these people, not our protected birds and their nests that we are trying to keep from going extinct! So much for “clean and green” New Zealand. We really need a radical change in thinking and attitudes, but I’m afraid the change of government will make matters worse and favour the offroaders and their vehicles, not those trying to protect our vulnerable wading birds and BEST their chicks. Let’s try and get our priorities LETTER WINNER straight, people.

John Watkins, Auckland

DOG DAYS It is very depressing news that dogs are killing kiwi up north and the culprits cannot be identified. As we know, all dogs must be registered, and it would be but a small step to take a sample of DNA from the dog at that time. This would enable the dog, and the owner, to be identified when such killings take place. Also, we heard that there are dozens of puppies being abandoned.

Surely, the dogs could be de-sexed at the same time as the DNA sample is taken. And by the way, a DNA sample could also be used to identify the dogs and owners who leave their doggie-doo on people’s lawns and gardens.

But then It will probably be the unregistered dogs (and irresponsible owners) who are doing the damage! Along with other predators, we should now formally add cats and dogs to the list of pests that are killing our birds.

Arthur Davis, Wellington

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WRITE AND WIN The best contribution to the Letters page will receive a copy of The Forgotten Forest by Robert Vennell, Harper Collins NZ, RRP $40. From the bestselling author of The Meaning of Trees, this new book about the hidden world of Aotearoa New Zealand’s overlooked plants and fungi is a must for all nature lovers. For more information, see page 61.

RETURNING HEDGEDEVILS I moved to New Zealand five years ago and have resigned myself to the necessity of trapping hedgehogs due to the good reasons explained in your article (Winter 2023). But it still feels such a shame, coming from the UK where hedgehog populations have gone into dramatic decline and they are now classed as vulnerable to extinction. Are you aware of any research or conversations having taken place of the possibility of relocating live-trapped hedgehogs from New Zealand to Britain, where they are at risk? Many are live caught in cage traps set mainly for feral cats and mustelids.

Surely, wildlife charities in the UK would be interested in covering the bill for any necessary quarantine period and health checks if the transportation of hedgehogs could be done cheaply and safely from NZ? Ruth Cordey, South Auckland Chelsea McGaw Habitat loss poses the greatest threat to hedgehogs in Europe, followed by predation and road kills, so bolstering their population with individuals from Aotearoa would not solve the underlying issues surrounding their decline. Also our hedgehogs are very genetically related, from a small foundation population, so from the genetic perspective the UK may not be interested. But studying their behaviour and movements in Aotearoa can help with hedgehog restoration efforts overseas. Conservationists in Aotearoa are sharing knowledge with conservation groups in Europe to help protect hedgehogs where they are native. So, in other words, relocating hedgehogs “home” is not going to work unless the reasons for their decline in the UK are addressed first. I also wonder that, since hedgehogs have been here in Aotearoa for almost 150 years, whether may might have adapted to a different climate, diet, and hibernation cycle? Probably not over only a shortish time (in evolutionary terms), but it’s a question scientists would need to ask before deciding to relocate them.

BIRD OF THE CENTURY

TAUTUKU MEMORIES Sitting in an office in Dunedin, Forest & Bird’s Tautuku Sanctuary in the Catlins shadows me. Though last summer, I carved tracks through the bush there but feel the place has left the more enduring footprint on me.

Like the tides in the estuary, I would visit each evening to watch a solitary spoonbill scything its head left and right in search of crustaceans. The Lenz Reserve draws me back, to memories of the ecology – of kārearea and tītipounamou, magnificent rātā, and delicate orchids, and the people – following the amazing work being done by the South Otago Branch committee and the morning teas with the crew at the Lost Gypsy café after I’d finished mowing the grass outside the cabins. In short, I’d highly recommend volunteering for the role of Tautuku summer warden. What I value most from my time at the Lenz was the sense of connection. Tramps and road trips are a great adventure, but it takes time and guidance to feel the rhythms of the land, while based in a very comfortable and well-equipped warden’s caravan. Tautuku is a special place, and it was a privilege to be a part of its community.

I hope you consider taking up the role too.

Angus Sinclair-Thomson, Dunedin EDITOR’S NOTE: Fergus Sutherland and the Lenz management committee invite applications for this summer’s volunteer warden position – please email tautukucabins@gmail.com.

BOOK GIVEAWAY All you need for a great birding day out. We are giving away two sets of bird books published

by John Beaufoy Publishing. Each pack contains A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of New Zealand (2nd edition) by Oscar Thomas, RRP $29.99, and The 50 Best Birdwatching Sites in New Zealand (2nd edition)

by Liz Light and Oscar Thomas, RRP $39.99. Oscar is a former Forest & Bird Youth Award winner.

To enter, email your entry to draw@forestandbird. org.nz, put BIRDS in the subject line, and include your name and address in the email. Or write your name and address on the back of an envelope and post to BIRDS draw, Forest & Bird, PO Box 631, Wellington 6140. Entries close 1 February 2024.

The winners of Blue Duck Station were Rodney Forlong, of Nelson, and Diana Stewart, of Marton.

The winners of the centennial tūī artworks, courtesy of Metalbird were Jennifer Leigh, of Auckland, and Alex Wearing, of Dunedin.

Forest & Bird

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This quality week-to-view diary features public holidays, and a lay-flat spiral binding.

Buy your calendars and diaries from Forest & Bird’s online shop, see https://shop.forestandbird.org.nz/

Summer 2023

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NATURE NEWS

DOUBLE THE LOVE

Tara white-fronted terns nest in dense colonies that provide little protection against predation by stoats, ferrets, cats, and rats.

Roger Smith

Every dollar you gift during December will be doubled and used to help fund Forest & Bird’s vital pest- and predator-free work in 2024.

A

t this moment, throughout Aotearoa New DOC doesn’t have enough money to look after our Zealand, introduced predators are decimating current environment, let alone take the actions needed our native birds and other wildlife. In our forests, to ensure a secure climate future for our mokopuna along our coastlines, by our mighty rivers, and up our grandchildren. mountains, much of our environment is under attack.

“This is where the proposed budget cuts are really National and its support parties have pledged to slash worrying,” says Forest & Bird’s chief executive Nicola most government department spending next year, with Toki. “This is going to be felt hard by frontline staff – the Department of Conservation facing cuts of at least wildlife rangers, scientists, and marine biologists.

6.5%. Funding for action on climate change is also at risk.

“You don’t restore and save 4000 endangered But the country has significant and binding species by cutting funding. You don’t protect and international targets to meet – on climate emissions and enhance the natural foundations on which 70% of on biodiversity. We need to conserve our exports are built by slashing and manage 30% of terrestrial, inland budgets.” water, coastal, and marine areas by Before the election, Forest & Bird 2030. That’s just six years away. worked with Federated Farmers and To get to these goals, we need the Institute of Forestry to highlight more and better investment, not less. the massive damage done to farms Every year, rats, stoats, possums, and forests by out-of-control deer, cats, and hedgehogs are massacring pig, and goat numbers (see page an estimated 25 million birds. The 10). We need the new government relentless onslaught pushes much of to prioritise spending on controlling our wildlife to the brink of extinction. these pests.

Right now, more than 4000 species After the election, we wrote to are under threat or at risk, including the new Ministers of Conservation, kākāpō, kōkako, kakariki, even our Climate, and Oceans as well as other ancient tuatara. It’s appalling.

Ministers holding an environmentAnd this year we’ve seen the related portfolio. We listed specific environmental devastation – environmental policies, legislation, This baited poster was eaten by predators in the New Zealand bush. Here, 72,000 native birds, chicks and eggs flooding, landslips, and erosion – and nature-based solutions that can are killed every day. Protect them from rats, stoats and possums by donating at forestandbird.org.nz/protect caused by not looking after our natural help reduce emissions, conserve heritage properly in a climate crisis. our forests, restore our oceans, and Rats ate this poster. Colenso

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prevent flooding and erosion in vulnerable communities.

We wanted to remind them of their domestic and international obligations for protecting the environment, working towards Predator Free NZ 2050, and ensuring primary industries are sustainably managed.

As well as our political advocacy, Forest & Bird’s volunteers are carrying out predator control at 128 nature restoration projects around the country, including at the 37 reserves we own.

We also run 10 important landscape-scale projects around the country managed by paid staff: Ark in the Park, Auckland, Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, Whanganui, and Tautuku Eco-Sanctuary in the Catlins. Other major projects include our bat protection work at Te Hoiere in Marlborough and Pest-free Hibiscus Coast.

Regrettably, this year, we weren’t successful in securing a significant grant that was earmarked specifically for project salaries. It’s a reminder that we don’t operate in a vacuum and our success often depends on factors beyond our control.

But we have hope. Each voice raised, each trap deployed brings us closer to predator-free Aotearoa – a country where wildlife is safe and flourishing, and our children are too.

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For more info go to our website pekapekabirdfeeders.nz.

ACT FOR CATS Cats are the most popular pet in Aotearoa New Zealand, but thousands are dumped in the bush every year and left to fend for themselves. Forest & Bird is calling for a national Cat Management Act that would introduce mandated microchipping and desexing for all pet cats. We need to show the government that tens of thousands of New Zealanders support a strong and workable Cat Management Act. For more about our work to secure this landmark win for nature, see page 24.

YOUR $$DOUBLE DONATION!

ONLINE SHOP Grab a limited edition centennial hoodie ($125+p&p) while stocks last. Our online shop features handpicked gifts for the nature lover in your life, including prints, jewellery, cards, and books. Every sale raises funds for Forest & Bird’s conservation work and supports a New Zealand eco-business.

Shop for nature at shop.forestandbird.org.nz.

Every dollar you donate during our Christmas appeal will go to support our predator-free advocacy during 2024.

And your donation will be DOUBLED thanks to a group of generous supporters who have pledged to match every donation dollar for dollar, up to a total of $110,000, during December.

Your gift will also support Forest & Bird’s vital bootson-the-ground conservation work. You will be helping our dedicated staff and volunteers, who stand guard for the birds, critters, and wild places you cherish.

We owe it to future generations to ensure they inherit a nature-rich Aotearoa. Please donate today at www.forestandbird.org.nz/support-predator-free.

Summer 2023

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NATURE NEWS Shallow sponge community, Mapoutahi, north of Dunedin.

SOUTHERN MARINE RESERVES WIN

S

ix new no-take marine tourism interests. After extensive reserves off Otago and local consultation, the Forum Southland were announced presented two options to the by the government last month – the government in 2018. first protected areas of their kind in A public consultation took place Aotearoa in more than a decade. in 2020 and resulted in more than They would also be the first 4000 submissions, many of them along the south-east coast of Te from Forest & Bird members. But Waipounamu, with one, Papanui, set there was also opposition from some to become New Zealand’s largestrecreational and commercial fishers. ever mainland marine reserve.

As a result, the final proposal The six marine reserves are in the doesn’t include any reserves off takiwā tribal area of Kāi Tahu, and the biodiversity-rich but vulnerable the iwi will be closely involved in Catlins, a vital habitat for foraging managing them in partnership with hoiho. There is also no protection the Department of Conservation. for the significant marine habitats Species to benefit include associated with Hay Paddock, off hoiho yellow-eyed penguins, toroa Ōamaru. northern royal albatross, pakake New Nevertheless, the new reserves Zealand sea lion, kororā little blue are hugely significant, says Chelsea penguins, as well as brittle stars, McGaw, Forest & Bird’s Otago and squat lobster, kōura, shrimps, crabs, Southland regional conservation sponges, sea squirts, and reef fishes. manager.

The 16-member South-East “These will be the first new Marine Protected Area Forum, reserves established in Aotearoa in comprising mana whenua, 10 years and the first ever off coastal fishers, and representatives for Otago and Southland. Overall, the marine, tourism, community, and new additions will increase the total environmental interests, was number of reserves nationwide from established in 2014.

44 to 50.

Forest & Bird’s staff “Some of the new member Sue Maturin reserves will be extra represented environmental special, due to the interests on the Forum, inclusion of river mouths, while South Otago estuaries, and salt marsh Branch volunteer Fergus habitat.”

Sutherland represented “Thank you to the Sue Maturin

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

thousands of Forest & Bird supporters who supported our work on the South-East Marine Protected Area Forum and made submissions via our website.”

The new marine reserves will come into force following a gazetting process, likely to be completed by mid-2024.

But the new reserves will only protect 4.05% of the entire south-east coast of New Zealand and won’t meet New Zealand’s international obligation to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030.

“This is one step towards this, but we have a very long way to go. We need to accelerate our efforts considerably,” added Chelsea.

Marine reserves within the proposed area network

BRIEFING NEW MINISTERS

T

ime is running out to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, and we hope the new Nationalled government hears this message loud and clear.

At the time of writing, Forest & Bird was preparing letters to each of the incoming Ministers who hold an environmental or climate-related portfolio.

“These set out our policy asks in key areas and show the value of nature-based solutions for climate health and to bring back biodiversity,” says George Hobson, Forest & Bird’s election campaign lead.

“We hope the new government will show some real leadership on conservation and the climate, and not regress to the old ways of doing things.”

Forest & Bird’s election campaign focused on climate change, its impact on te taiao nature, and the importance of using nature-based solutions to help Aotearoa New Zealand become more resilient and boost biodiversity.

Together, we reached hundreds of thousands of Kiwis and put pressure on candidates to commit to progressive environmental policies at events across the motu.

A big thank you to our branch and Youth volunteers who organised meet-the-candidate events and put pressure on candidates to come clean on their climate and conservation policies.

Forest & Bird’s social media election campaign reached 326,939 people and received 1.7 million impressions. Our election billboards received more than 975,000 impressions and were shown more than 88,000 times across Aotearoa.

Our election team also created and distributed a toolkit of election resources, including posters, postcards, questions for candidates, and a branch tactics guide.

But there is more to do! We now need to hold our newly elected leaders accountable and show New Zealanders want to see nature properly protected, even during a cost of living crisis.

BIRD OF THE CENTURY Of course, there was only one election that counted for bird nerds this year – our Bird of the Century poll! In the run up, we joined the Up the Wahs chorus by giving two Bird of the Century candidates a makeover. The takahē and redcrowned kākāriki were the perfect pair to “cheep up” the Warriors and cheer on Aotearoa’s NRL team.

AD_DocBeak_F&B_Oct2023_FA.pdf 1 25/10/23 We also hope you enjoyed our online9:45 BirdAMof the Century trivia quiz, part of Forest & Bird’s Centennial Speaker Series. You can catch up with all the Bird of the Century news, including John Oliver’s “alarmingly AD_DocBeak_F&B_Oct2023_FA.pdf 1 16/10/23 4:56 PM aggressive” global campaign for his favourite New Zealand bird, our next issue.

Summer 2023

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NATURE NEWS John Nelson

Forestry, and Forest & Bird are calling on the new government to commit to making a targeted injection of funding so the Department of Conservation can increase its pest control efforts across the country.

The forest sector is also spending millions paying for wild browsing animal control, with reports of 1400 goats shot over 400ha on the East Coast in just two months.

“Much higher government funding is needed to reset numbers to a lower level,” said New Zealand Institute of Forestry president James Treadwell.

“Without adequate pest management, New Zealand is going to be unable to plant steeper sites and meet the Climate Change Commission forecast of 300,000ha of new native forest.

CONTROLLING BROWSERS

F

armers, foresters, and conservationists are calling on the new government to commit more funding to control large mobs of browsing pests such as deer, goats, pigs, and wallabies now common across Aotearoa New Zealand.

In September, Federated Farmers, the New Zealand Institute of Forestry, and Forest & Bird took an unprecedented step in jointly writing to all major political parties asking for targeted funding to reset wild browsing pest numbers.

Publicly available data shows these pest populations have been expanding across native habitats and on primary production land, with reports of damagingly high numbers all around New Zealand.

Federated Farmers President Wayne Langford said: “This is a serious problem for a lot of farmers across the country. We’ve been getting regular reports of 30 or more wild deer roaming across farmland eating the pasture. It’s the same issue with other browsing pests.

“There will always be an important role for recreational hunting in New Zealand, but the current increase in pest numbers shows recreational hunting alone can’t adequately control these pests.”

In South Canterbury, a farmer recently eradicated more than 2300 wallabies in a single cull. Without adequate control measures on neighbouring conservation land, wallabies will re-enter and the farmer will need to pay for further culls to keep numbers down.

Federated Farmers, the New Zealand Institute of

Ron and Edna Greenwood

ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST 10

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

Lake Okataina wallaby and deer exclosure plots showing lush growth when browsing mammals are removed. Biosecurity New Zealand

“This could result in failure to meet future international climate change commitments and further increase the reliance on purchasing international carbon credits at great cost to every New Zealander.”

While the government’s budgets are tight right now, the reality is that reduced or deferred spending on pest control will just see higher costs in the future as wild animal populations continue to grow.

“Doing nothing risks native forest collapse, and we need these critical carbon sinks in the fight against climate change,” said Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki.

“This is a problem that’s been decades in the making, and we need the new government to front up and tackle it now.”

The trust provides financial support for projects advancing the conservation and protection of New Zealand’s natural resources, particularly flora and fauna, marine life, geology, atmosphere, and waters.

More information is available from the Trust at PO Box 10-359, Wellington.

SAY NO TO TRAWL CORRIDORS

Darryl Torckler

F

orest & Bird is working with the Hauraki Gulf Alliance on a campaign to ban bottom trawling in Tīkapa Moana.

In August, Fisheries NZ, part of the Ministry of Primary Industries, opened a public consultation on its four trawl corridor options (also known as bottom fishing access zones).

Depending on the option chosen, it would allow bottom trawling in 11%–21% of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (in waters less than 200m).

It would also mean more intensive trawling in smaller areas but no reduction in fish catch limits.

Forest & Bird is advocating for a new and better way forward – Option Zero – that would see 100% of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park closed to bottom trawling and Danish seining.

We also want to create a separate fisheries management area to mirror the marine park boundaries and stop new trawl corridors being established in other parts of the Gulf in future.

Forest & Bird made a detailed submission in support of Option Zero and asked our supporters to make their own online submissions to MPI. “Despite the public’s overwhelming opposition to destructive fishing in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, trawling and Danish seining will continue if the government’s plan for trawl corridors succeeds,” said Bianca Ranson, Forest & Bird’s Hauraki Gulf coordinator.

“We are very grateful to all our supporters who made a submission to support Option Zero. Trawl corridors are not acceptable anywhere in the Gulf. Option Zero is the only option.”

There is still time to make a submission supporting Option 0. Submissions close 4 December, see www.forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/arohatia-tikapamoana-love-gulf.

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NATURE NEWS CENTENNIAL STORIES The past three months have been busy with cenntenial events, arts and educational activities throughout the country. Zoë Brown

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Z Post has published its annual stamp album, New Zealand Stories in Stamps, The New Zealand Collection 2023. This premium publication is popular with international stamp collectors and highly anticipated each year. The album includes a series of fascinating essays exploring the themes behind this year’s stamps. Forest & Bird 100 Years stamps are included in the album’s mint stamp collection, with an essay about our work over the past century. The cover features artwork created by New Zealand artist Rachel Walker for one of Forest & Bird’s stamps. NZ Post loved the tiny Tautuku gecko so much they decided to put it on the cover. The artwork references the native flora and fauna of our Tautuku nature restoration project, in the Catlins, including towering red rātā and freshwater fish. The annual stamp album is published on 29 November 2023, RRP $159, and you can buy it online at https://collectables.nzpost.co.nz.

The South Canterbury Museum exhibition opened in October.

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n September, our Centennial Speaker Series delved into the design realm, inspired by Wellington’s World of WearableArt Show (WOW). During Sustainable Threads: Rethinking Fashion & Design, five fashion experts discussed the challenges of integrating sustainable practices. A recording of this and all previous instalments of Forest & Bird’s Centennial Speaker Series are available to watch at https://bit.ly/3POerru.

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

ver the past three months, branches have organised three exhibitions across the motu. Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum celebrated the region’s wildlife and conservation efforts in Ngā Taonga o Hakatere: One Hundred Years of Forest & Bird. The exhibition of photographs collected by the Ashburton Branch gave a glimpse into the extraordinary wildlife that makes its home in the mid-Canterbury district.

Forest & Bird’s South Otago Branch took a different tack, exploring the impact of humans on the rolling hills, forests, and rugged coastline of the Catlins. Its exhibition Humans in the Catlins – The Environmental Impact was displayed in Owaka Museum during August.

Forest and Bird: Local people protecting and restoring nature opened at South Canterbury Museum, Timaru, in October and will run for five months.

The exhibition celebrates 100 years of Forest & Bird and more than 60 years of the South Canterbury Branch’s work restoring the region’s natural heritage, with a special focus on the region’s pekapeka long-tailed bats.

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orest & Bird’s Golden Bay Branch organised for a colourful flock of shorebirds to land on four local beaches over Labour Weekend. Pupils from Collingwood Area School, Takaka Primary, Central School East Takaka, and Golden Bay Home School painted wooden shorebirds for the educational art project.

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ur Force of Nature collaboration with the Performing Arts Community Trust continued with a sold-out concert at the Nelson Arts Festival in October. The eight original chamber music pieces celebrate 100 years of Forest & Bird and were inspired by Aotearoa’s wildlife, forests, rivers, and oceans.

Hamilton Arts Festival has chosen Force of Nature to open its 2024 festival on Friday, 23 February.

You can buy tickets from 30 November – check out hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz.

The eight works have been added to the SOUNZ Resound project, a music archive for New Zealand– performed music, securing it for posterity.

The SOUNZ team recorded the Auckland premiere, and RNZ Concert provided the audio recording. The video will appear piece by piece by composer on the website, see sounz.org.nz/resources/30177?locale=en.

Members of Forest & Bird’s Nelson-Tasman and Marlborough Branches gathered to plant a record 1200 native seedlings in a bumper centennial edition of their annual Ronga Reserve planting day on 26 August. A misty morning gave way to a stunning day for planting across the podocarp forest restoration site, and volunteers enjoyed a well-deserved BBQ and cake.

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orest & Bird has developed a new resource to help teachers incorporate conservation into the National Curriculum, with a host of activities inspired by this year’s Bird of the Century competition and its 77 avian candidates, including five extinct species.

The bird-themed activities contained in the Bird’s activities pack for teachers include creative art projects, science experiments, poetry and story-telling challenges, as well as suggestions on how to campaign for their students’ favourite bird. You can find the resource at kcc.org.nz/portfolio/bird-of-the-year/.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2024 Auckland Big Birthday Bash | 17 February 2024 Join us to celebrate 100 years of Forest & Bird’s conservation mahi on 17 February 2024 at Shakespear Regional Park, Auckland. Bring your family, friends, and a picnic for a fun day out in nature. Birthday cake included!

Women in Conservation | 8 March 2024 This International Women’s Day, join Forest & Bird and the National Library of New Zealand for a series of workshops aimed at inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders, aged 14–25. There will be a digital component to allow others to join this Wellington-based event.

☛ MORE CENTENNIAL

STORIES

The second release of 26 Forest & Bird Centennial’s poems and artworks inspired by visits to four branchmanaged reserves – see page 34.

Children in conservation: Birth of the Kiwi Conservation Club – see page 56.

Summer 2023

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COVER Kākāpō mum Alice and chick Rupi.

Jake Osborne

Many individuals are doing what they can. But real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics.

Sir David Attenborough

FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE

Alex Stone looks at the challenges ahead for conservation as we head into 2024 with a new government and an uncertain climate future.

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n the future of conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand, what does “good” look like? What are the likely successes and where should we focus our efforts?

I started this enquiry by talking first to young and emerging conservation scientists and practitioners. Surely they will have this figured out?

And sure enough, they do. But many would not speak on record – being naturally cautious about future job prospects.

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But then another theme emerged. What these conservation leaders-of-the-future were telling me was mirrored in much of what us greybeards and silver-heads have long espoused.

There seems to be much consensus about the future of conservation and its challenges.

What are the constituent components of this?

Climate change tops the list as the big influencer of the future.

It will dominate all our planning,

policies, future successes (and failures).

Political leadership will be key in all conservation domains, particularly climate.

The conservation sector coming together and speaking as one voice is another critical success factor.

But perhaps the most burning question as we head into 2024 is whether there is going to be sufficient and sustained funding for conservation.

FUNDING CONSERVATION

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oing forward, New Zealand’s unfortunate record of spending way less than 1% of Crown revenue on the conservation portfolio should be addressed.

In May 2018, when Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage, a former Forest & Bird staffer, unveiled the Labour government’s “biodiversity budget”, she said the $181.6m boost for the Department of Conservation was long overdue.

In fact, the 16% increase over four years was the first time in more than a decade government spending on conservation had increased beyond inflation, according to Forest & Bird’s calculations.

Two years later, the $1.2 billion Jobs for Nature programme was unveiled as part of the government’s Covid-19 recovery package. It kickstarted a string of ambitious community- and iwiled conservation initiatives and created a small army of newly trained conservationists.

But the programme is due to come to an end in June 2024, worrying the many local groups who have benefited from its funding and whose environmental work is not finished.

National announced before the election that it would cut DOC’s budget by 6.5%, prompting Forest & Bird and other leading environmental organisations to demand a rethink.

I asked Eugenie Sage, who stood down from Parliament after the election, what the new government’s conservation priorities should be going forward.

“We need increased investment in the control of deer, Himalayan tahr, goats, wallabies, and other browsing pests and wild animals to reset their populations to much lower levels and protect the health of our forests, tussock grasslands, and alpine habitats,” she said.

“With more frequent mast years, it is essential to expand the extent of conservation land subject to aerial pest control to avoid further decline in our native birds and other wildlife.”

Auckland councillor Mike Lee, a veteran conservationist, says the government’s decision-makers need to value nature and put its needs first. As head of the Friends of the Hauraki Gulf, Mike has been campaigning for a new marine reserve for the north-west of Waiheke.

“I have been actively involved in the conservation movement since the early 1980s, a time of widespread uplift in awareness of the importance of nature in New Zealand.

“It was a time of major battles, mainly focused on saving native forests, in which the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society led the way, fought, and won.”

Mike says nature protection isn’t the sole priority for government decision-makers, who also have to weigh up other factors, including economic development and Treaty obligations.

“This can be challenging for citizen conservationists,” he adds.

“I am confident, however, that over the long term things will trend back to valuing nature in its own right, for the intrinsic value of ecosystems and our unque wildlife on land and in the sea. This was the mission which inspired the modern-day conservation movement 40 years ago.”

It’s clear that, with nearly a third of our terrestrial land being in conservation estate – and it being the cornerstone of our international brand – it deserves to be given much more government funding.

Summer 2023

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Forest & Bird’s chief executive Nicola Toki said the idea of defunding DOC in the middle of biodiversity and climate crises was

irresponsible leadership.

“We know that investing in nature-based solutions, increasing wetland protection, and controlling browsing mammals reduces the impacts of climate events and improves our ability to reduce emissions,” she said.

“Given our love for native wildlife, it’s short-sighted and wrong-footed to be reducing the budget of the agency that is tasked with protecting our taonga species.

“DOC’s budget is about the same as the Christchurch City Council’s, but it has to look after a third of Aotearoa.”

If the new government goes ahead with cutting DOC’s already limited funding, it will put even more pressure on volunteer-led community groups to pick up the slack.

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REWILDING OUR OCEANS

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he late greats Bill Ballantine, Wade Doak, and Roger Grace, and today’s younger voices such as Nick Shears and Shaun Lee have long advocated for the restoration of the health of our marine world. Until recently, their prescient calls mostly went unheeded.

At last December’s UN conference on biodiversity in Montreal, the world’s nations agreed to establish 30% of oceans and land as protected areas and to do this as an urgent priority.

Then the UN ambassador for oceans, Rena Lee, brought down the gavel on the High Seas Treaty, which also aims to place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030 to safeguard and recuperate marine biodiversity.

“The ship has docked,” she said in March, echoing relief that 10 years of negotiations had been successfully concluded.

New Zealand signed up to both 30% pledges. In Aotearoa, a third of our land area is already in conservation estate thanks to

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campaigns by Forest & Bird and others.

But at sea our record is terrible.

With less than 1% of New Zealand’s total marine environment fully protected from fishing, we’ve got some catching up to do.

“We need to turn around New Zealand’s dismal record on marine protection and create a network of large and representative marine protected areas, including in our Exclusive Economic Zone,” says former Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. “That requires new legislation based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”

Shaun Lee

Shaun Lee is a conservationist, diver, and photographer with a special interest in communitydriven restoration of marine

An abundance of blue maomao at Poor Knights Islands, one of New Zealand’s few notake marine reserves.

Crispin Middleton

ecosystems, especially in the Hauraki Gulf.

“Conservation has become more decentralised, and the mahi is becoming more dynamic and inclusive,” he said.

“This shift is fostering a broader definition of conservation, accommodating diverse cultural and ecological perspectives. Much of the work is now better labelled as restoration or enhancement.

“The inclusive approach is failing our oceans, with 90% of seabird species threatened with extinction or at risk of becoming threatened and less than one percent of our ocean protected from fishing.”

Shaun is also concerned that lack of funding for core conservation work is putting native species recovery at risk.

He points to the plight of shorebirds, such tara iti fairy tern, New Zealand’s rarest indigenous breeding bird, with about 40 individuals left on Earth.

Sid Marsh is well placed to add to this kōrero. He’s a vastly

Sid Marsh

experienced forest ranger and has worked for DOC in many remote locations, where he’s one of their go-to men for live bird capture and relocation (specialising in kiwi and kōkako).

Sid is also an experienced underwater explorer, having dived in many famous New Zealand locations, from subtropical waters to the sub-Antarctic islands. What are his views on the future of conservation?

“On the terrestrial side, in real practical terms, so much has been achieved conservation-wise across Aotearoa over the last 30 years.

However, where the underwater marine environment is concerned

over the same period, it’s a different story, progress and restoration has been negligible.

“Social issues and Treaty obligations are today being confused with effective core subaquatic conservation initiatives.

No-take marine reserves are the simplest, quickest, most efficient, democratic, and cost-effective measure in fixing the fished-out mediocrity that is the Hauraki Gulf – and all of our inshore waters.”

In future, we will have to find ways to mitigate the effects of climate change across every area of conservation, including in marine ecosystems.

“The oceans have done so much to protect us from the worst effects of climate change and are critical for feeding us and supporting our wellbeing,” points out Eugenie Sage.

“We need a serious commitment to transforming commercial and recreational fishing to make them ecologically sustainable, stop over-fishing, and end the bycatch of seabirds, dolphins, seals, turtles, and

other protected species.”

Biosecurity is another issue facing our oceans. The Poor Knights Islands are experiencing a spread of kina barrens. It’s a new species of sea urchin doing the damage, one that has appeared from warmers waters and appears to have no natural predators to control it.

The newly arrived tropical species won’t survive if the water temperature drops below 14°C, but this hasn’t happened at the Poor Knights over the past six years.

Divers around Northland and the Hauraki Gulf have also been recording more migrant tropical finfish species. Their effect on the underwater ecosystems is unknown but could require new conservation measures or priorities in the future.

Similarly, the spread of the invasive seaweed caulerpa and many terrestrial weed-foes of native forest recovery could spread thanks to a warming climate. We need to be better armed for the future (in both funding and research) for these biosecurity fights.

homes, creating a political storm.

Since February, Forest & Bird’s freshwater advocate Tom Kay has been travelling around Aotearoa promoting nature-based solutions, such as making room for rivers, to reduce flooding in local communities.

Making Room for Rivers has been proven in other countries to reduce the risk by modifying or moving traditional flood protection structures, such as stop banks, and allowing rivers more room to roam in their natural flood plains.

“We are finding local residents and councils in high-risk areas are looking for new ideas because the old flood mitigation technologies are no longer fit for purpose in our changing world,” said Tom. “We need to try new ways of dealing with flooding and erosion

risks by working with nature and not against it. The problem is only going to get worse in future, so it’s better for central and local government to invest now rather than wait until it’s too late.”

Forest & Bird is advocating for nature-based solutions to be prioritised by the new government.

In our Every Wetland Counts campaign, we have been raising awareness about the importance of restoring drained wetlands and preventing existing ones from being bulldozed or drained for pasture.

Our Future Forests campaign, led

by Dean Baigent-Mercer, focuses on the benefits of removing browsing mammals from forests as a climate action. This leads to healthy carbon sinks that can help prevent flooding and reduce erosion and sediment run-off into oceans.

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Forest & Bird’s freshwater advocate Tom Kay

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS

Summer 2023

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Passionate freshwater advocates such as Dr Mike Joy and Janet Hunt have long advocated for the urgent conservation of our rivers, lakes, wetlands, and estuaries.

As with ocean conservationists, their calls mostly went unheeded until this year’s cyclones, storms, erosion, floods, and slips drove hundreds of Kiwi families out of their

COVER

TRANSFORMING TOWNSCAPES

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he extraordinary success of the Zealandia sanctuary, located 10 minutes from the heart of Wellington, shows how hope and action can lead the way for conservation success. If we can bring the actions of conservation into our own backyards, we bring the benefits to a much bigger audience. Literally mainstreaming them. What’s not to like?

Dr Danielle Shanahan, chief executive at Zealandia and adjunct professor, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, is able to eloquently distill a big-picture, positive view of conservation into what we can do right outside our front doors.

“There is a lot to worry about regarding the fate of biodiversity here in Aotearoa New Zealand

Dr Danielle Shanahan

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and globally. Many species are on the precipice of extinction, and our regulations and approach to development mean we are still rapidly losing habitats,” she said.

“In the face of that loss, we need stories of hope, and Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne has provided that.

Most notably, every suburb in Wellington has experienced an increase in the number of native bird species over the past 20 years.

“Some of the species now spotted in backyards had been gone from our mainland from over 100 years.

“What do I think was the key to this incredible turnaround? At its heart was the community. The community established Zealandia, and the community has led the charge on predator-free Wellington to ensure the spaces beyond the fence are safer.”

Looking forward, Danielle says there is no single solution for the biodiversity crisis. It needs collective community action from the bottom up and investment from the top down.

“It can’t just happen in national parks or offshore islands – it must also happen in our towns, cities,

A bird’s eye view of Zealandia with Wellington in the background.

Rob Suisted

and beyond. We must think deeply about how we want our streams and oceans to look in 100 years’ time and not give up on the most difficult problems,” she added.

We’ve seen urban mainland islands can work, and birds, bats, and lizards spill out of these places into local gardens, bringing joy and hope to those lucky enough to encounter them.

And we can certainly fast-track “at-home” conservation efforts as new research and technologies come online and by harnessing mātauranga Māori knowledge too.

SMART TRAPPERS Charles and Nikki Graves, who live near me in a bush block of around an acre, are full-on devotees of the set-em-and-leave-em Goodnature traps.

In the early days of their pest-eradication efforts on their property, Charles’ conversation was all about how many dead rats he’d find each morning at the base of the tree.

Today, a few years later, they are living in a born-again wildlife paradise, with kākā chicks fledging every year, geckos and ruru on

the deck balustrades, and a dawn chorus just like it used to be.

Their experience is being replicated in much larger landscapes too, such as the valleys of Fiordland, where remote trapping and monitoring systems are being tested and refined.

Over the past three years, the government’s Jobs for Nature funding provided a much-needed funding boost for iwi- and hapū-led conservation initiatives.

In July, Forest & Bird awarded its prestigious Kōtuku award to Te Raukūmara Pae Maunga for its ambitious project to restore the mauri and mana of 150,000ha of native forest in the Raukūmara Range, east of the North Island.

Raukūmara Pae Maunga is a joint project of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui iwi, of the Eastern Bay of Plenty, and Ngāti Porou iwi, of the East Coast, in collaboration with the Department of Conservation.

It is an iwi-led response to the crisis that brought Raukūmara to the brink of ecological collapse, a silent forest that was failed by the Pākehā-

centric conservation system.

Ora Barlow-Tukaki, of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, said: “Our vision is to restore the land for future generations, to return it to how it was in the days of our tīpuna – the mana and mauri of te Raukūmara restored to again thrive, flourish, and nurture all who are connected to it.”

As well as restoring the whenua, the project aims to share skills and knowledge among iwi members while creating local jobs.

We look forward to seeing the Crown partner with iwi and provide long-term funding for win-win initiatives such as this. This will see more Māori-owned land being restored, jobs being created in the regions, and nature returning to abundance as it used to be.

Ora Barlow-Tukaki

PARTNERSHIPS Some said Prime Minister John Key was pulling a fast one when he announced in 2016 that New Zealand would become predator free by 2050.

Unlike the Kennedy government’s moonshot, our New Zealand mission was given a woefully inadequate government budget. Instead, said politicians, public–private partnerships would be the way to go.

While more than 5000 groups and iwi have registered to conduct predator control in their communities, supported in their actions by the Predator Free New Zealand Trust, the financial

contribution of private interests has fallen way short of what is actually required.

We are going to need partnerships in the future to supplement government funding.

But let us enter into them carefully.

There’s also the danger of the “corporatisation of conservation”, with a growing trend for big brands to link themselves to single-species conservation, while non-sexy species or ecosystems lose out.

Looking ahead, there’s a world of potential sponsorship funding out there but a few pitfalls too.

Summer 2023

CONTINUES

Interestingly, Goodnature cofounder Craig Bond says people are the most important ingredient when it comes to trapping pests.

“So often, people get caught up in making smart traps and forget the most important ingredient – the trapper. You can build the world’s smartest trap, but if a trapper can’t install it, clear it, or refill it easily, it’s useless.

“Our goal has never been to make smart traps – it’s been to make smart trappers.

“That’s why our traps aren’t just out the bush – they’re also on people’s smartphones, reminding them when they need gas and lure. Then there’s all that kill data, which is like gold dust to trappers because it helps them to make trapping decisions with facts, not assumptions.

“From where I stand, the future of trapping is simple – it’s traps that make their trappers smarter.

Because smarter trappers equal more kills, less pests, and more nature.”

The ever-increasing accuracy in GPS locating systems, planning algorithms, and low maintenance, self-resetting traps will help control predators.

It’s good to know we have homegrown Kiwi technology and innovative can-do attitudes on our side. And a whole buch of smart trappers.

IWI-LED CONSERVATION

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COVER Kaituna River.

Caroline Wood

MOVING TO THE TOP OF THE WATERFALL

It’s time for a fundamental shift in thinking about the future of nature conservation in a climate emergency.

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he election campaign of 2023 was notable for its almost complete lack of discussion about conservation priorities. As we enter an era of austerity politics, this outlook may not improve, with DOC funding cuts on the cards.

Writing in the New Zealand Herald in September, Simon Wilson commented on the much-discussed savings to most government departments, saying: “Imagine being an airline pilot and discovering the boss had sent most of the ground staff home.”

Forest & Bird’s chief executive Nicola Toki took up this theme before the election, calling out the lack of political leadership.

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“There’s a quote by Sir David Attenborough that I keep coming back to. ‘Many individuals are doing what they can. But real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics.’

“An emergency doesn’t call for a plan at some point in the future.

It calls for action. Someone has to grab the fire extinguisher and start putting out the fire.

“Our political leaders say ‘we are focusing on bread and butter issues’.

What could be more bread and butter than the foundation of the system that gives us food, water, and fresh air – te taiao nature?”

Many people we talked to for

this article pointed out the need for a fundamental shift in thinking – moving to a top-of-the-waterfall mentality rather than dealing with serious climate and conservation issues with an ambulance at the bottom.

If our new political leaders can provide properly targeted and sustained funding, I have faith our young Kiwi captains of conservation can steer us to a better future, one that sees nature flourishing in every corner of Aotearoa and the wider world.

Alex Stone is an award-winning New Zealand writer, poet, and artist based on Waiheke Island.

REWILDING OUR COUNTRY

A TRAMPING TRACK TO THE FUTURE

Tukutuku rakiurae Harlequin gecko.

Jake Osborne

n We need to focus on restoring our depleted marine and freshwater ecosystems, while properly funding predator and browsing mammal control. Together, these actions will bring huge biodiversity benefits. n Controlling browsing mammals and removing possums from our native forests and shrublands will restore the health of these important carbon sinks. n Blue carbon matters too – we need

should be lost and the existing number doubled so they can absorb more carbon, protect communities from flooding, and boost wildlife. n Significant and sustained funding for nature-based solutions, such as making room for rivers, will protect communities from storm damage, flooding, and erosion. n From maunga to moana, iwi-led conservation initiatives funded by the Crown will become increasingly

government funding, although this could be a double-edged sword. n Urban-based community groups will play a vital role inspiring more New Zealanders to restore native habitats. We will rely on technology to achieve our conservation goals. n Strong environmental legislation will be needed to overcome outdated regulations and provide a springboard for transformative change.

to heal our coastal and marine environments. An astonishing 80% of the Earth’s biodiversity lives in the ocean. n Every wetland counts – no more

important for restoring terrestrial and coastal landscapes at-scale. n Public–private partnerships may come to dominate the conservation landscape, making up a shortfall in

n If we can shift to top-of-thewaterfall thinking and properly plan and fund nature-based solutions, we can mitigate climate change, protect communities, and boost biodiversity.

There’s a book to be written on each of these subjects, and many already have been. Suffice to say, each of these priorities brings a great many challenges – and opportunities – ahead.

Campbell Island teal.

Please support Forest & Bird’s conservation work during 2024 – go to www.forestandbird.org.nz/ support-us/appeals/donateforest-bird

Jake Osborne

Photo: Sandy Goddard

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Explore

where the outback meets Australia’s longest river, on a guided multi-day tour hosted on a luxury houseboat

phone: +61 417 533 063

e-mail: info@murrayrivertrails.com.au Summer 2023

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BRANCH public conservation land managed by the Rotorua Department of Conservation Office.

But from the 1940s to 1970s, it was subject to native logging, and Te Puke Forest & Bird was instrumental in getting the area set aside for conservation purposes.

They decided to act after North Island kōkako were found to live there during the 1980s.

Kōkako.

Tara Swan

KŌKAKO PROTECTION PAYS OFF

Members of our Te Puke Branch left a huge legacy for kōkako conservation when they fought to protect Rotoehu Forest 35 years ago.

A

Bay of Plenty forest saved from being milled in the late 1980s is now home to Aotearoa New Zealand’s secondlargest mainland population of kōkako, with numbers skyrocketing 89% in four years.

A Department of Conservation survey of the Rotoehu Forest, between Rotorua, Whakatāne, and Te Puke, found kōkako numbers had risen to 289 pairs, up from 157 pairs in 2019.

The Rotoehu Ecological Trust, which has managed bait stations in the forest since 2013, says the survey result is testament to the hard work of community volunteers and advocates who have strived for decades to protect the forest.

“We pay tribute to all who have

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gone before us in creating and maintaining the safe spaces in which this kōkako population has thrived,” says trustee Jane Bird.

“In the late 1980s, protests by members of Te Puke Forest & Bird led to the creation of a protected conservation and ecological area, which was home to the ancestors of the current kōkako population.

“Since that time, many organisations have supported the population, and Rotoehu Ecological Trust/Kōkako Ecosanctuary is very fortunate to be assisting DOC with management of what is now a rapidly expanding kōkako population.”

Today, the Pongakawa Ecological Area, a bush block north of Lake Rotoehu, is an ecological reserve of

Carole Long.

Caroline Wood

Forest & Bird’s Distinguished Life Member Carole Long, who won a Queen’s Service Medal for a lifetime of services to conservation, remembers the fight for Rotoehu Forest, one of many waged by Forest & Bird in the late 1980s.

“Rotoehu forest was home to kōkako, and we had already had a battle to keep logging trucks off Tawa Road [near Rotorua],” she said.

“Another challenge was the Forest Service’s decision to do logging and plant Tasmanian blackwood trees in the kōkako reserve – that was the start of conservation activism!

“I was part of a group of totally law-abiding citizens who went through those sites and ripped out blackwood seedlings by the dozen. It saved the Department of Conservation a job later on.

We also succeeded in getting good land allocation to DOC, with corridors for kōkako to move between habitat sites.”

North Island kōkako are a blue-wattled ancient endemic species with a beautiful haunting call. Today, the largest mainland population is at Pureora Forest (more than 600 pairs), followed by Rotoehu Forest (289 pairs) and the

Hunua Ranges (more than 250 pairs).

Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island also hosts a large population of more than 400 pairs.

The Rotoehu population has benefited from ongoing and longterm efforts to control introduced predators on 2450ha of public conservation land using bait stations and aerially applied 1080 bait pellets.

Ngāti Makino Iwi Authority is working alongside DOC to help protect kōkako and other native species at Rotoehu Forest. Kōkako hold a special place in the stories and traditional knowledge of the area.

“Preserving our native kōkako species is deeply rooted in our cultural and spiritual connection to the land and its environment,” says John Rapana, Ngāti Mākino Tribal Authority Environmental Manager.

“Over the centuries, observation of our kōkako and other manu taonga species resulted in an accumulation of local knowledge

about their behaviour, habitat, and seasonal patterns that were observed, contextualised, and appropriated into our cultural stories and practices.

“From an iwi perspective, we are obligated to maintain our poutiaki role with our environment and its inhabitants. We must continue to develop multiple skill sets for our people to be confident and competent to undertake specialised roles to support our manu taonga and its environment.”

DOC will continue to use aerially applied 1080 bait in combination with a ground control programme led by the local community to help kōkako and other native species breed.

Other forest locals include titipounamu riflemen, kererū, korimako bellbird, pōpokatea whitehead, toutouwai North Island robin, tūī, ruru morepork, and pekapeka bats.

Rotoehu Forest.

Rotoehu Ecological Trust

from every limited edition Honeywrap sold is donated to Forest & Bird.

PROUD SUPPORTERS OF FOREST & BIRD

P R E D AT O R - F R E E N E W Z E A L A N D

TIME TO

ACT FOR

CATS

A Cat Management Act is win-win for feline welfare and wildlife.

Jake Osborne

Forest & Bird needs your help to get world-leading legislation over the line so we can manage pet cats for the first time in New Zealand’s history. Amelia Geary

T

his summer, we have the biggest opportunity in our lifetime to do something meaningful to protect our native wildlife and improve cat welfare in Aotearoa New Zealand.

No other country has a Cat Management Act that regulates cats nationally, and Aotearoa is tantalisingly close to becoming the first in the world to secure one.

It would mandate microchipping, desexing, and registering all pet cats, making it much easier to manage stray and feral cats and stop them devastating local wildlife, especially native birds and lizards.

With your help, we can secure a win-win for our wildlife and cat welfare and make history by showing the world what we can do when we come together – conservationists, farmers, councils, and cat welfare advocates.

We can’t fail now, at the last hurdle. We need the new government to come to the party and introduce a national Cat Management Act. On 2 August 2023, Parliament’s Environment Committee released its long-awaited report on a petition to mandate the registration and desexing of pet cats and kittens.

Forest & Bird, along with others, including our friends at the SPCA, presented in favour of the petition, saying a Cat Management Act would help local authorities manage cats as they do dogs.

The Environment Committee’s recommendation was this: “It recommends by majority to the government

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

that legislation is developed to implement a nationwide cat management framework based on the principle that cats should be registered, desexed, and microchipped with appropriate exemptions.”

But what now? While cat control legislation is not controversial and is also supported by many councils, without public pressure, there is no impetus for the newly elected government to pick it up and run with it.

We need action so we can manage our cats more effectively. Current legislation isn’t fit for purpose, and councils need more powers to manage pet, stray, and feral cats.

We live in a country that loves cats. They are our most popular pets, and more than 1.2 million cats share homes with their humans, but only half (49%) are microchipped according to Companion Animals NZ. There are about 196,000 stray cats abandoned by their owners (the actual number is likely to be far higher). While there is no national data on feral cat abundance in Aotearoa, it is widely accepted they number in the millions.

Cats prey on native birds, lizards, and insects and can devastate local populations. Feral cats were responsible for the loss of Lyall’s wren on Stephens Island, Marlborough Sounds, in 1895.

Forest & Bird has been raising awareness of the “cat menace” since its inception. In fact, founder Val Sanderson argued for cat control legislation in 1934 and compulsory cat registration in 1942.

Ours was not the lone voice in raising cat concerns before World War II. The SPCA called for compulsory registration at a meeting of its Wellington Branch in November 1938.

And now, in Forest & Bird’s centennial year, we’re the closest we’ve ever been to securing meaningful action from the government. We’ve had a Dog Control Act since 1996, by the way.

How can you help? The best thing you can do is talk to your new MP, talk to your local council, talk to your community. The more people that pass the message to the government, the better.

We want to end the suffering of hungry stray and feral cats and protect our wildlife. The time for a Cat Management Act is now.

FERAL CAT KILLS FERNBIRD CHICKS

The photo below shows three mātātā South Island fernbird chicks safe in their nest on 13 September.

They were being monitored by Forest & Bird’s Tautuku restoration project staff and were on the cusp of fledging.

Sadly, three days later, a feral cat killed all three chicks in the nest. Forest & Bird’s Tautuku project manager Francesca Cunninghame takes up the story.

“We have it on trail camera. The adult fernbirds return to roost with the chicks near the nest, which is concealed among juncus rush,” she said.

“An hour later, a black cat arrives, sniffs around, moves towards the nest, sits still, pounces, and you can see its head moving as it eats the chicks.

“The two adults escape and return the next morning. You could see they were back searching for their young. It was heartbreaking.

“This shows why feral cats are a real problem that needs addressing. This is an impressively calculating predator, just in the wrong place.”

New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world that recognises feral cats as a pest, but currently Mātātā South Island fernbird they are not on Predator (top) and the three doomed Free NZ’s official list of chicks below. species for eradication.

But Chris Luxon and Chris Hipkins both committed to eradicating feral cats during the second leaders’ debate on 28 September. Forest & Bird will continue to advocate for feral cats to be added to the list for eradication.

CAT CAM TALES Greg Billington shares his experiences with cats in scrubby bush near his home at Waikawa, near Picton, South Island.

Greg set up a “cat cam” so he could see what was killing the local wildlife he was trying to protect and found a number of different feral cats wandering through the area.

After five feral cats were removed in 2020, birdlife bounced back, with pīwakawaka, riroriro, weka, and quail present in substantial numbers.

But then, says Greg, domestic cats moved in to occupy the niche filled by the departed ferals, and the local bird population virtually vanished over three weeks and never recovered.

He says it’s quite easy to distinguish a domestic cat from a feral if one happens to be caught in a trap.

Greg strongly supports a Cat Management Act and says compulsory microchipping would help identify any cats caught in his traps and allow them to be reunited with their owners.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

1

Please support Forest & Bird’s predator free advocacy, including our Cat Management Act campaign, by making a donation today. Go to www.forestandbird.org.nz/support-predator-free.

2

Add your voice by writing to your new MP urging them to support a comprehensive Cat Management Act. You can find a template letter at predatorfreenz.org/cats/.

Summer 2023

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FL R EO SE RA R C H Forest pathologist Darryl Herron (far right) with Arapeta Tahana.

Scion

SAVING TAONGA MYRTLES

Scientists and mana whenua are racing against time to save vulnerable native plants being lost to myrtle rust in the Rotorua Lakes area. Alison Brown

W

ith fears mounting that plant species endemic to New Zealand could be wiped out by myrtle rust, researchers are urgently developing best practice methods for propagating plants from cuttings in the first stage of a long-term resistance breeding programme.

The full impact of the fungal disease on the health of vulnerable plants, such as ramarama and rōhutu, in the Rotorua Lakes area was revealed last spring and summer. These plants and their hybrids belong to the Lophomyrtus genus and are part of the myrtle family at risk from the infectious airborne fungus.

Scion forest pathologist Darryl Herron says myrtle rust’s spread has created a sense that conservation efforts are already at a critical stage.

“The population size of Lophomyrtus trees around the lakes area is quite small, and, without any interventional management, we’re likely to lose them completely.

“With myrtle rust impacting these populations, we’ve realised how important it is to propagate cuttings before myrtle rust decimates them and we lose all access to their fruit or seeds in the future.”

The three-year Te Rātā Whakamaru breeding programme started in April 2022 and is being delivered

by Scion in partnership with the Rotoiti 15 Trust. It is funded by Jobs for Nature through the Department of Conservation.

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Ten full-time staff have been trained as field technicians and are carrying out surveillance work in Bay of Plenty forests. During their first year, they focused on the area around Lakes Rotoiti, Rotomā, and Okataina.

Before ramarama and rōhutu cuttings could be taken, Scion and Te Rātā Whakamaru sought permission from hapū, explaining how the cuttings could be used to preserve the genetic diversity of the local populations and breed for myrtle rust resistance.

Project technical lead Dr Jacqui Bond says that, while the outlook for the species appears dire, a positive has been the relationships built with mana whenua and the trust they have in the team to take cuttings.

Hōmiromiro field technician Otaki Grant says the message received from mana whenua is clear. “They don’t want to idly stand by and watch the species decline. Their permissions for us to take cuttings have been pivotal in allowing the next phase of the project to begin for tree breeding.”

Cuttings are taken during cooler months when the disease is less likely to spread. Scion propagation scientists with experience in taking cuttings from trees in South America, where myrtle rust originated, have supported the project by advising on the best techniques.

Rotoiti 15 Trust chair Arapeta Tahana says mana whenua are deeply concerned about the impact myrtle rust is having on Lophomyrtus species.

“From a Māori world view, we are connected to nature, so these species are our family. We see the trees as part of our whakapapa and identity, so we are very motivated to help them.”

Darryl Herron says the new cutting protocols could be applied to other indigenous species as well. The long-term aim is to grow trees from cuttings and seeds that demonstrate a natural resistance to myrtle rust infection.

“It’s unclear why some trees are infected and others aren’t. Is it because the disease hasn’t reached them in the field, or is it because they have some tolerance?

These are the questions we want to answer,” he added.

Alison Brown is senior communications advisor at Scion.

Myrtle rust on ramarama.

Scion

BIODIVERSITY

RARER THAN RURU

Kahukura red admiral.

Angela Moon-Jones

Aucklanders are being urged to boost the fortunes of a stunning endemic butterfly by growing nectar-producing plants in their garden.

T

here are other red admirals in the world, but ours, known to Māori as kahukura, meaning red cloak, is definitely the most beautiful. It is also nationally rarer than ruru. Most Aucklanders don’t remember the red admiral, which was common in Tāmaki Makaurau before the turn of the century.

“This species is only located in New Zealand and was once widespread,” explains Jacqui Knight from the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust.

“It seemed to disappear about the time the painted apple moth was discovered in Auckland, when the city was sprayed with insecticide to eradicate the pest.

“Development and the loss of our wild spaces also means the butterfly is a very infrequent visitor to the city now.

“It’s as much a part of New Zealand as our kiwi and kauri, but it seems to have been forgotten over the past 20 years. ” The Trust’s Auckland members have plans to change that. This summer, they are campaigning to increase awareness of kahukura, and encourage more Aucklanders to plant nectar flowers and the butterfly’s host plant.

Urtica ferox, New Zealand’s endemic ongaonga tree nettle, is the host plant where the species lays its eggs. If you don’t want to plant this in your garden, you can still support the campaign by providing more nectar flowers.

Red admirals are pollinators, and both the adults and the caterpillars are a valuable ingredient in the diet of our native birds. “If we are successful in bringing the red admirals back to Auckland, undoubtedly our birds will benefit too,” adds Jacqui.

The campaign has been helped by a grant from Foundation North. This will allow a small number of lepidopterists (butterfly experts) to visit neighbouring regions and bring caterpillars or eggs back to Auckland to create the foundation population.

Entomologist Brian Patrick, who is the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust’s biodiversity advisor, is keen to support the initiative.

“In Canterbury and Otago, the butterfly isn’t so rare because of the large number of host plants growing in the wild, but South Island butterflies are not well adapted to Auckland’s climate,” he said.

“By collecting some from Northland or the Waikato

to establish the Tāmaki Makaurau population, they will have a better chance of survival.”

Auckland writer and radio host Graeme Hill has been breeding admirals for many years in his city garden.

“People can also help by controlling the predatory and parasitic wasps,” he said, “especially the paper wasps and Vespula species, pests that have arrived in New Zealand and are decimating our native butterflies.”

The Trust has the support of Kings Plant Barns in Auckland, which stocks a good range of flowering plants to encourage butterflies into gardens.

Check out the Trust’s website for nectar plant lists and other useful information – www.nzbutterflies.org.nz.

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E V E R Y D AY H E R O E S

➊

➋

The land before, during, and after Silvia’s forest restoration work: 1 exotic pine forest 2 rewilding pines two years later 3 native trees are flourishing today.

➌

I RESTORED A

NATIVE FOREST

Four years ago, Silvia Pinca embarked on an ambitious project to almost single-handedly rewild a freshly logged pine forest. This is her story.

T

hirty-eight thousand and seven hundred pines removed and counting ... I was puffing, backpack on shoulders, handsaw in hands. “Why had I decided to do this?” I asked myself. This was way harder than what I had envisioned.

In 2019, two years after the neighbours felled the pines from a 30ha lot on the other side of the fence, I decided to purchase the property and “help” it come back to natural health – ie, to rewild it.

To start with, I faced about 40,000 pines, regrown two years after the felling. Removing them involved many days of hard hand-sawing on steep, heavily damaged hillsides, wobbling over logs, not-yet-rotting branches, forestry slash.

After making some space, the following years I focused on the more uplifting job of planting mānuka to create a ground base for other species: pūriri, kōwhai, kawaka, tōtara, pōhutukawa, and more.

Compared with the earlier devastation, these new plantings, along with the selfregenerating bushes and trees seeded from the next-door forest – our Silvia Pinca on her trusty own home-bush reserve quad bike.

Supplied – were a joy to see. ​

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But every subsequent year brought a new challenge.

While the pesky pines re-sprouted in fewer and fewer numbers and are almost non-existent today, the invasive pampas grass, moth plants, woolley nightshades, passionfruit, and banana passionfruit invasions became more daunting. Even with intensive eradication actions, they keep coming back.

Why did I embark on such a challenging project? In my earlier life, I was a marine biologist contributing to the conservation of tropical coral reefs and their subsistence fishery. I quit a decade ago, having lost hope in governments taking the right decision for longterm preservation of nature and the natural resources that support humans.

After studying and applying natural health, I felt called back to nature, my first passion, and I now focus on restoring impoverished biodiversity and habitat, both critical life-supporting assets for future humans.

Loss of biological complexity impacts the basic elements of life – oxygen, water, food – and beauty too.

Biodiversity, in the sense of richness of species, niches, ecosystems, or life complexity is shrinking fast.

The main culprits are the invasions of exotic species and habitat degradation by deforestation, overfishing, building (roads, factories, megacities, etc), and pollution.

My husband Nick, a fisheries biologist, has been living here in a sustainable manner for the past 25

years, trapping invasive species (possums, rats, weasels, stoats, pigs, and wasps) to preserve tree roots, foliage, and native birds. The forest thrived and the birds came back.

He and a friend started Tutukaka Land Care Coalition, a charitable trust that has been enhancing local biodiversity. The group has encouraged other local organisations to carry out pest control, and kiwi and forest conservation in a large area of Northland.

Inspired by these dedicated people and by my heartfelt need to repair some of the damage to nature, I created a project that could also address another big worry: the impact my lifestyle has been having on the degradation of nature and climate change.

I decided this land was going to absorb my past and present emissions – native trees not only host indigenous animal species, from bacteria to birds, but also produce matter from CO2 absorbing it from the atmosphere.

Thousands of native plants were dug into the ground by hand, including 4900 trees.

Supplied

knows what this climate has in store for us.

But this still felt like a much needed effort to slow down and reverse the damage we humans have caused the environment, as well as compensate for old ways of living on this planet, an unsustainable way of life still being lived by far too many.

Silvia Pinca lives at Te Rapa Sanctuary, a pristine 140ha of native bush in Northland. Her geodesic dome home is powered by solar energy, and the organic food garden and orchard are irrigated by creek water transported by a solar-powered water pump.

For more about Silvia’s inspiring story, go to www.generationtrees.com.

More than 6000 invasive pampas grass were removed.

Supplied

It might have been frightening to tackle this solo, but I gave myself no choice. The hardest part was pulling, cutting, and pasting weeds, collecting thousands of moth and passionfruit pods, scrub-barring and spraying more than 6000 pampas grass, carrying thousands of mānuka and kānuka seedlings on my shoulders to the different corners of these hills.

And I was not always on my own. I had to ask for local help in some instances: a neighbour with his chainsaw was hired to tackle the largest pines that my pruning saw could not decapitate, and Nick, improvised hunter, saved my newly planted seedling from herds of wild pigs invading the property and rooting all over it.

Thanks to Trees That Count, Carbonclick, many private donors, and a few volunteers, I was able to purchase and plant more trees, while Northern Regional Council and Cut’n’Paste provided herbicides and traps.

It meant I could go quite far in restoring this space.

Today, the land is no longer dominated by drying pine logs and piles of broken branches attempting to dislocate my ankles but is increasingly covered by native trees and shrubs, green new leaves, and flowers everywhere.

There will be times of drought, like in the past El Niño, and periods of heavy winds, cyclones, and who

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Summer 2023

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F R E S H WAT E R Orongorongo River.

Jazmine Ropner

WAI ORA

What can mātauranga Māori teach us about caring for local waterways?

Jazmine Ropner enrols in a free nationwide course to find out.

W

ednesdays are my favorite day of the week.

That’s when I head down to the Wellington Boys and Girls Institute (BGI) to learn how to become a better kaitiaki of our fresh and sea waters.

The Wai Ora course is available nationwide through Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiāra. The free course helps students understand and apply the appropriate tikanga customary practices and mātauranga Māori indigenous knowledge to the care of wai water.

Jazmine Ropner When I walk into the BGI building, I’m usually greeted by the smell of delicious food being cooked for our group by the resident chefs (Michael and Raquel). It is made from recycled food that would otherwise be thrown away.

Course facilitator Ihaia Puketapu has a big heart and an infectious laugh. He warmly welcomes the students, ready to share his wisdom and energetic curiosity about other cultures.

He opens our learning session with a karakia and 30

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begins a topic on an aspect of water management with a strong Māori historical perspective.

This is followed by a long lively discussion with enlightened faces, tearful reflections, and bouts of laughter. Kōrero is a big part of what everyone, including Ihaia, enjoys about the course.

“I have the advantage of making up my own curriculum, but I prefer people to have discussions and challenge me,” he says. “This is how education should be, with critical thinking.”

“I have been doing resource management since the early 2000s, working for iwi, sitting on an environmental committee, and working in Parliament as an energy economic advisor.

“But I started teaching this course when I realised we have reached a crisis point in the way we manage and understand water and its runoff into coastal waters.”

During the Wai Ora course, participants learn in different blended ways, including online, noho learning at-place, kōrero and wānanga, and self-directed learning.

The aim is to empower the students to restore the mauri life force of coastal and freshwater bodies for the benefit of whānau, iwi, hapū, and the marae. Then they can support future generations to do the same.

My fellow classmates come from a wide range of backgrounds and countries. On the first day, we shared why we were interested in taking the course.

“I wanted to take the chance to connect to my Māori roots and understand more about my own culture,” says Ngawharau Brown.

“Wai Ora offers a unique perspective on water management, focusing on the te ao Māori approach,” says Luis Perez, who is from an indigenous tribe in the Amazon.

“Unfortunately, policymakers often overlook the value mātauranga Māori brings to the table. It is important that we revive ancient knowledge that we can learn from.”

“I thought this class would be a way to learn about mātauranga Māori in a respectful way,” adds Lauren Averillo, originally from the US and studying at Victoria University.

“I wanted to get a different perspective from American water conservation and to respect the knowledge.”

During the course, participants are Ihaia Puketapu. encouraged to connect Jazmine Ropner and learn from each

JUST YOU AND THE SOUNDS Welcome to the wild corners of Fiordland, where the call of native

The class visits Remutaka Forest Park.

Jazmine Ropner

when the world was more pristine, cultures are timeless.

And these concepts are timeless too,” says Ihaia.

“We must try to keep the next generation informed.

We must be responsible ancestors – otherwise, the next generation won’t be prepared.”

I highly recommend this class to anyone interested in learning about mātauranga Māori and how it can be applied to conserving our water. It’s given me a greater understanding of our freshwater and coastal water bodies and how to look after them. The experience is priceless, the connections are valuable, and the food is superb.

The free Wai Ora course is available nationwide through Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, with flexible start times – go to www.wananga.ac.nz.

KAYAK . SAIL. SNORKEL. FREE DIVE HIKE. WINE. DINE. UNWIND.

other too, just as much as they learn from tangata whenua – the kaiako teachers.

“This course is about meeting people and connecting. Learning is achieved this way and isn’t as structured as other classes I have taken,” says Lauren.

German architect Nathalie Swords agrees, saying: “We can learn a lot about environment and sustainability from indigenous cultures. It is important to look to the past when people were good at using resources effectively.”

One noho sees the class head into the Ōrongorogo Valley, Remutaka Forest Park, a place of deep significance to Te Ātiawa, Ihaia’s iwi.

We pass through a massive waharoa entranceway, beautifully carved with ancestral knowledge of Taranaki Whānui. I later discovered Ihaia had carved the waharoa.

When he walked past his craftsmanship, bare feet on the whenua, I felt the genuine connection he has with this area.

“Mātauranga Māori is important today because, even though these ideas originated

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wildfiordland.co.nz Summer 2023

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BIODIVERSITY

LISTEN FOR BIRDS Former Forest & Bird staffer Karen Baird teamed up with writer Lynette Moon to help New Zealanders learn 60 different bird calls.

K

aren’s father John Kendrick recorded the calls that feature in their handy pocket-sized guide New Zealand Bird Calls: Listen with a QR code.

Birds may call for a variety of reasons: for example, to announce or reinforce a claim to their territory or to attract a mate. They tend to remain in areas where they can find food, so it helps if you know, for instance, that some forest birds feed high up in the forest.

The kākā often feeds in the canopy, and although it may at first be hard to spot its harsh calls will reveal its presence. Likewise, birds that feed near water tend to spend more time there.

Dawn is a special time to listen to birds, whether in a garden or a forest, as many of the birds sing together in a “dawn chorus”, though you may at first be unlikely to pick out individual songs.

Some species don’t make obvious calls; many of the finches, for instance, make similarsounding chattering calls.

Others call when on the wing.

Examples of these include the white-faced heron, which utters loud croaks in flight, and the

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incessant kek-kek- kek of Cook’s petrel, heard particularly on damp nights as it flies low overhead.

Birdsong also varies through the year. Listen out in spring when the calls of many birds are more prominent. You will soon come to know the whistling calls of the shining cuckoo (back from its winter quarters in the Solomon Islands) and the loud call of the New Zealand kingfisher. Even if they cannot be seen, you can at least be sure these birds are nearby.

All birds make sounds unique to them (although differences can be subtle, and one or two species, such as the starling, are able to imitate other birds). Additionally, each bird makes a range of sounds, according to whether it is alarmed, making display calls to a mate, or simply keeping in touch with that mate while feeding.

Once you get to know the alarm call of the blackbird, look around: you may well spot the intruder — a prowling cat, for instance, or another predator — that is agitating the bird. Chicks, too, call particularly loudly, with excited cheeping, when they hear a parent approach or when being fed.

Kākā.

Shutterstock

TOP TIPS n Focus on just one or two birds to begin with to familiarise yourself gradually with each species and its calls. n Sit quietly when listening, as movement or voices may scare birds away and muffle quieter calls. n Take a notebook so you can record your impressions of calls and bird behaviour, as well as notes on the conditions (weather, season, time of day, temperature, etc). n Take extra care when birds are nesting in spring. It is never a good idea to play the recorded calls outside as birds may become alarmed, and, if breeding, they might even desert their nest.

Extracted with permission from New Zealand Bird Calls by Lynnette Moon, Geoff Moon, John Kendrick, and Karen Baird. With bird illustrations from the collection of the late Geoff Moon.

Published

by White Cloud Books, RRP $29.99

BRANCHES

TĪ KŌUKA 2023 AWARD WINNERS

Three dedicated conservationists have won Forest & Bird Tī Kōuka awards for making a significant contribution to regional conservation over a long period.

David Belcher, who paid his first sub to Forest & Bird in 1966.

H

awke’s Bay farmer David Belcher has been awarded Forest & Bird’s Tī Kōuka award for his outstanding service of nearly 60 years to the Hastings-Havelock North and Napier Branches and to conservation in the region.

David joined Forest & Bird as a 20 year old in 1966 and later used his farming skills to improve pest control and infrastructure at the Society’s Blowhard Bush and Little Bush reserves, as well as playing a leading role in many other regional conservation projects. David also served as Napier Branch chair for seven years before standing down earlier this year. He will remain involved in looking after Little Bush.

Nominating David for the award, Neil Eagles and Liz Carter said: “David Belcher has been one of Forest & Bird’s longest-serving active volunteers. He was a Trustee at the Guthrie Smith Arboretum, Tutira, for six years and more recently worked with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to coordinate branch planting at Waitangi Regional Park and Lake Tutira.”

Helen Hills (right) and Rata Ingram on the spectacular Banks Track, Canterbury.

L

ifelong conservation volunteer Helen Hills has provided outstanding service to Forest & Bird’s North Canterbury Branch and many conservation projects in the Christchurch area. She served on the branch committee for seven years and co-led branch projects at Mahoe-nui, the Port Hills, and Boyle Base in the Lewis Pass area. Helen also volunteers at the Sanctuary Reserve at Waimakariri, at Forest & Bird’s Calder Green Reserve, in Christchurch, and at a local penguin colony.

She also volunteers for the Summit Road Society and the Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust.

North Canterbury Branch Secretary Frances Wall paid tribute to Helen’s impressive work ethic, saying: “From early days helping with KCC, to raising thousands of native seedlings in her own back garden to donate, and serving on our branch committee since early 2016 with effective problem-solving and practical skills, Helen is the epitome of a true conservationist.”

Meg Collins prepares to plant a nationally critical giant-flowered broom.

N

ative plant champion Meg Collins, of Ōpōtiki, has given outstanding service to the Eastern Bay of Plenty Branch over three decades, including establishing and running its native plant nursery for six years and serving as branch chair four years. Meg led many branch projects, often together with husband Mike, including a Bring Back the Birds project protecting shorebirds in and around Ōhiwa Harbour. She also advocated for nature during two terms on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. In 2018, Meg created a rare coastal plant collection at Onekawa Te Mawhai Regional Park/Ōhiwa Domain, with a special focus on endangered plants from the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Nominating Meg, Ann and Basil Graeme said: “For 30 years or so, Meg has been an active Forest & Bird member and a staunch supporter of conservation in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Meg created and maintains a native garden in Onekawa Te Mawhai Regional Park, which has become much visited local highlight.”

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26 FOREST & BIRD CENTENNIAL

NATURE’S FUTURE

To celebrate 100 years of conservation, Forest & Bird teamed up with 26 New Zealand writers and artists to highlight the vital role of volunteers working in our reserves. Caroline Wood

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n our second instalment of the 26 Forest & Bird Centennial project, using art and poetry to celebrate 100 years of conservation, we travel to two mainland forest reserves, a seabird breeding colony, and an island nature sanctuary.

These four special places exist thanks to the foresight of three families and a company who gifted whenua to Forest & Bird to be looked after in perpetuity. Today, thanks to our generous donors and volunteers, the Society maintains 37 nature reserves all over the country.

First up (see right) is a tribute to the stunning variety of native birds and bush at Tarapuruhi Bushy Park Sanctuary, near Whanganui, which is within the rohe of Ngaa Rauru.

Artist Lee Byford-Daynes and writer Catherine Macdonald were tasked with creating an artwork, a 100-word centena poem, and accompanying 260-word essay inspired by their visit.

Local farmer and conservationist Frank Moore donated his farm and homestead to Forest & Bird in 1962. Today, species such as hihi and toutouwai North Island robins are thriving in a protected lowland forest surrounded by a predatorfree fence.

The local Tarapuruhi Bushy Park Trust cares for the sanctuary in partnership with Forest & Bird, working closely with Ngaa Rauru. Many species of forest birds are thriving under the care of local volunteers over several generations.

Overleaf, we feature two reserves in the Tāmaki Makaurau region.

Writer Chris Bowring and artist Amy Parlane visited Ngaheretuku, South Auckland, Forest & Bird’s

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Rātānui, Tarapuruhi Bushy Park.

Lamp Studios

oldest nature sanctuary, which was donated in 1951 by a local farmer called Hugh Alexander.

The South Auckland Branch has been looking after it for more than 70 years, and it is home to one of the largest kahikatea in the Auckland region and significant stands of regenerating kauri and other forest species. And yet local people still dump rubbish from the road that runs alongside the reserve.

Meanwhile, artist Sophia Nouchi and writer Leah Royden headed to Waiheke Island, in the Hauraki Gulf, where Forest & Bird’s branch volunteers look after three nature reserves. They visited Atawhai Whenua, located close to the main ferry terminal, which has been painstakingly restored back to bush.

Hihi at Tarapuruhi Bushy Park.

More than 40,000 trees have been planted by Forest & Bird’s members since the over-grazed farmland was donated in 1993 by the Johnstone family. Volunteers were thrilled when kākā, once locally extinct, returned to breed, following predator-control by local volunteers over many years.

In 1990, Fletcher Titanium, a mining company, gifted a 28ha forest block south of Punakaiki to Forest & Bird to manage as a reserve for the Westland petrel.

This tāiko is confined to a single breeding location in the world, north of Barrytown Flats, where an estimated 4000 pairs breed in burrows under broadleaf native forest. Part of the colony is on the Dick Jackson Memorial Reserve managed by Forest & Bird.

Writer Richard Pamatatau and artist Lynette Hartley visited the reserve and discovered the beautiful Westland petrel is threatened by a proposal to mine minerals just south of its colony.

Volunteers from our West Coast Branch are fighting to stop this going ahead (see Spring 2023). ☛To find out more about the 26 Forest & Bird Centennial project, see page 39.

Dominic Scott

TARAPURUHI BUSHY PARK WHANGANUI WOVEN It has been a privilege to paint the magical beauty of Tarapuruhi Bushy Park.

Visiting with the writer Catherine, the amazing volunteers, and alone, I spent many hours wandering ARTIST and absorbing the Lee Byford-Daynes lightness of this place. It’s vibrant and lush with layers of life and rebirth.

The painting was created in transparent layers to convey this depth. With plants, insects, and birds weaving in and out of each other, I tried to create the circular narrative of their wild interconnectedness.

The play of light and shadow resonated with both Catherine and I, and the way light dances around spotlighting gems of fern frond, fungi, leaf tips, and bird’s eyes was at the heart of this work.

Medium: Oil on canvas, 60cmx60cm

WRITER

Catherine Macdonald IN THIS LIGHT In this light the forest looks fresh, bright every surface is alive, the manu are busy.

There was rain the day before but today there is sun above the canopy filtering down.

The light changes as we move through the shadows grow solid in places the forest stills, suddenly thoughtful, waiting.

The sun’s still there, but hidden now.

Beyond, silver light plays on water a lake formed by a slip.

Where ever you look there is a world, an ecosystem you get the feeling that nothing is wasted and everything is where it’s meant to be working together, in this light.

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ust out of Whanganui among the fields there’s a patch of land marked off from the rest. It’s unsurprising to find fenced land in the countryside, but this fence is different. It not only stops cows from going where they’re not meant to be, it also stops rats, cats, rabbits, and possums.

Bushy Park Taraparuhi has barely any grass and no farm crops, instead it is a rare example of the lowland native forest that once covered this area. The Sanctuary is home to Rātānui, a giant 800-year-old northern rātā, and an abundance of native birds, lizards, plants, and fungi live safely within its 4.7km predator-free fence.

When Lee and I visited, it was volunteer day, a twiceweekly occurrence. The place is bustling with human activity, paths are being cleared, seedlings planted, feeding stations cleaned, and refilled, wasp traps refilled – there is a lot happening.

We get to accompany Fiona, a volunteer, who is cleaning and replenishing the hihi stitchbird feeding stations and it is a treat to be able to step off the public paths and head to the stations located further in the bush. While not large at 91ha, after walking a few metres, and turning around a couple of times to look for fungi, we lose our sense of direction in the dense bush.

Thank you to Fiona and forest sanctuary manager Mandy Brooke for hosting us. We left marvelling at the abundance of interconnected life in the forest and grateful to the community of people that are supporting it.

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NGAHERETUKU SOUTH AUCKLAND NGAHERETUKU: HOPE IN THE TIME OF SOLASTALGIA The reserve is quite impenetrable yet verdant with a sense of expansiveness because of its valley terrain. These elements, along with the huge pūriri tree and its vertical garden, suggest a successful legacy despite the persistent challenges of illegal dumping and pest control.

The road speaks to ‘the journey’ of maintaining this reserve and also the direction of its future – and possibly our own. I reflected on the theme of ‘leaving a legacy’, about the people who had the foresight, money, and dedication to create this beautiful reserve, and those who today labour to conserve this remnant native forest.

Medium: Acrylic paint on gesso-primed cotton canvas

ARTIST

Amy Parlane

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ore than 70 years ago Hugh Alexander donated 15ha of bush to Forest & Bird. The organisation’s oldest reserve now marks the last remnants of South Auckland’s expansive woodland. Over the decades dedicated custodians have wrestled to protect the area from invasive predators and weeds, but the carelessness of those who drive along the adjacent Twilight Road also poses a challenging adversary. On my visit I spotted debris ranging from tyres, to shopping carts and trash bags. When Hugh Alexander gifted this land he WRITER asked that it not be named after himself, and instead be titled Ngaheretuku, “a Chris Bowring gift of mixed bush.” It seems a shame that a gift be treated with such apathy by an uncaring few, and initially that was the core sentiment of my piece. Whether it be art, people or places, the same appreciation is not felt by all. That does LET GO not mean however that Hugh Alexander’s In this moment, I am here. gift is not being met with gratitude. There Tyres tossed down the bank, totems of irresponsibility distract. are those who see that in this place there I look away. I let go. is more to let go of. For me, the modern I fix my gaze on the descent of nourishing skies. nonsenses I take so seriously washed Rain feeds nīkau, pūriri and kahikatea during a gentle ride to the ground. away. Replaced with peace, connection, It softens the soil and my heart. beauty and simplicity. For a moment I The buzz of a phone. Did I send that email? felt permitted to stop thinking and revert I switch it off. I let go. to a simpler mode of mental operation.

The conversation of birds is joyous. My soul soars.

Pure existence. It might not be a gift A retreat from unnecessary noise. experienced or acknowledged by all but Am I enough?

I am grateful for those who ensure it Let go. remains available for future generations.

A breath in, a breath out.

That is what I choose to focus on. The All I am, is in this moment. value of what is being protected by a devoted, caring few. Thank you.

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ATAWHAI WHENUA WAIHEKE ISLAND BRITTLE BRANCHES The North Island kākā clings to a bare branch. Many of our bird species hang from fragile branches that could snap at any moment. Extinction looms and without dedicated individuals, bird populations could collapse. Many compassionate people have united to protect and raise awareness for offshore islands ARTIST and they serve as safety Sophia Nouchi rafts for recovering species.

Atawhai Whenua Reserve is the result of many years of dedication from the people of Waiheke. Their planting and predator control has created an habitat abundant with native fruits and flowers. This has encouraged the return of birds and their songs now fill a space that was once farmland.

Medium: Coloured pencil WRITER

Leah Royden

THE SLOW WORK Make a stand.

A stand of pūriri, A copse of kahikatea, A shambles of mānuka.

Dig deep.

Make a hole.

Make a hundred.

Make a day of it.

A lifetime.

Count the years Measured between stretched fingertips As you hug the kauri close.

Trace the scars of yesterday Through sun-scattered undergrowth.

Catch a glimpse of tomorrow Tucked warm under a kākā’s wing.

Check your watch.

Healing is the slow work Seeds flung across time Into tomorrow’s unknown.

This place, this moment, Born screaming small Across bare earth bitten raw.

Draw back your arm, Plant your feet, and make a stand.

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s the hills of Waiheke swell to fill the ferry windows, fat green cheeks pressed against salt-glazed glass, I check the time.

I fidget restlessly as the crowd spills out onto the dock, draining away into long lines of waiting taxis. Up the hill they stream, towards Waiheke’s achingly stylish vineyards and beach houses.

My own path, an awkward jog along the shore, leads me into a very different world.

Atawhai Whenua (kindness towards the land in te reo Māori) covers 17.5ha of former farmland, wild meandering paths ringed with natives and chiming with birdsong.

Every so often, through thick pūriri leaves and wiry kānuka, I glimpse the wide, black road towards Oneroa. Cars rumble, kererū chuckle, and I check the time.

“People rush too much,” our Forest & Bird guide Ivan says thoughtfully. He cracks off deadwood as we walk, runs his hands over bark, and touches kōhia tendrils with the gentle seriousness of a doctor checking a dressing.

He shows us old photos of over-grazed fields, wounded by landslides like great bite marks, and shares legends of the restoration’s late leader Don Chapple. Soft-spoken, tenacious, the scourge of developers. The breeze rustles through his life’s work around us.

Ivan points out good spots to plant tōtara and introduces us to kauri grown from seed. Eyes dancing with excitement, he tells us the kākā are starting to come back.

I lose track of time.

I let it lie wherever I dropped it, for the pīwakawaka to pick at.

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DICK JACKSON MEMORIAL RESERVE TE TAI POUTINI WEST COAST PUNAKAIKI PETRELS

ARTIST

Lynette Hartley

My artwork shows Westland petrels returning to their nestburrows in the forests behind Punakaiki. The tāiko gather out at sea at dusk soaring back and forth waiting for darkness. The forest here, the only place these petrels nest, is being damaged and the nests predated by introduced predators. Felting let me capture the excitement of seeing, or feeling, these black birds fly past in the darkness. The work changes depending on the light source with the silhouetted petrels sometimes visible, and sometimes not, against the dark background.

Medium: Felting, merino wool and silk

MY TĀIKO WHAKAPAPA My Tāiko whakapapa wings its way away down, down,

down the ages a decade passes ‘til home across across oceans navigating swirling swishing mingling.

Past becomes present becomes past becomes present;

See me in flight silhouetted night

falls moon rises.

Hear me

brushing against dusk Crash land burrow sanctus to life’s chosen with fish the family dish.

Shared incubation, keeps warm a new life oval. Repeat. Echo.

Past becomes present becomes past to become present. Echo.

This slope, its mantle holds our whakapapa in soil, trunks, streams, leaves.

DNA generations threatened by all you might do to my Tāiko whakapapa.

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WRITER

Richard Parmatatau

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o sit in silence and the dusk and wait for and watch a Westland petrel arrive is a gift that brings both joy and sadness.

These birds are magnificent in the rarest sense of that word. Each as it steps through the bush after it tumbles from the sky with its cry into the night is the embodiment of thousands of years of history and faith. Faith in the land, the sea, the hill that is home, the burrow, the knowledge that directs them back to the same place generation after generation.

Aligned to this is a precarity; that’s where we come in with our bright lights and roads and desire for progress.

That’s where we come in with the corporate wish to turn the flats into a mine for minerals. That’s where we come in to advocate and fight to prevent wanton destruction of land that will bring lights, mayhem and danger to birds who have slipped on the wind for generations to come home time and time again year after year.

Do the petrels need a champion from the celebrity world (though they are celebrities in their own right) who can say no – let’s not mind, let’s keep these birds safe?

Or do we have a collective responsibility to be a champion and influence those we can in our own tiny way?

Perhaps if more sat in silence and the dusk and waited and watched a Westland petrel arrive and circle before landing their magnificence would be understood.

As part of our 100-year celebrations, Forest & Bird partnered with 26, a global not-for-profit writers’ collective.

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he organisation works with professional writers all over the world, most recently focusing on environmental and climate issues – see 26.org.uk.

We previously partnered with the New Zealand chapter, publishing a project called 26 Habitats NZ during the UN Climate Change Conference of 2019.

For 26 Forest & Bird Centennial, we wanted to harness the power of art and poetry to inspire more New Zealanders to help protect and restore nature.

Twenty-six Kiwi artists and writers volunteered for the project and were randomly assigned to 13 Forest & Bird nature projects, ranging from tiny reserves to major landscape-scale restorations.

Each artist-writer pair visited their project at least once, met our volunteers, explored the habitat, and got up close to some of the locals, including birds, lizards, butterflies, giant trees, and tiny fungi.

Writers were asked to create an original centena – a poem of exactly 100 words that must start and finish with the same three words – and a short personal reflection about their experience.

The artists used a variety of mediums to create artworks that responded to the landscape, people, species, and conservation challenges they encountered.

Jane Berney is one of three New ARETHUSA RESERVE Zealand editors ARK IN THE PARK NGAHERETUKU leading the 26 Forest ATAWHAI WHENUA & Bird Centennial NZ The 26 project, together with Forest & Bird WALTER SCOTT RESERVE writer-editors Jayne Centennial projects Workman and Paul BLOWHARD BUSH White.

RANGITĪKEI RESERVES All three are BUSHY PARK TARAPURUHI volunteering their PĀUATAHANUI time to work on this FENSHAM

WILDLIFE RESERVE RESERVE creative project and WESTLAND PETREL COLONY are hugely passionate about supporting conservation through CALDER GREEN their writing talents.

They were paired up with artists they had never met before and travelled THE LENZ RESERVE respectively to

Pāuatahanui Wildlife Reserve (Jane Berney), Rangitīkei Reserves (Jayne Workman), and Arethusa Reserve (Paul White). Check out the Spring issue for their centena and essays.

“It was a privilege to visit Pāuatahanui and meet Forest & Bird’s volunteers, hear about the conservation challenges they face, and see the difference they are making,” said Jane Berney.

“Some told us they have been working for decades looking after these places. It was inspiring to hear their stories and experience their passion for the natural world.”

Forest & Bird was founded by another dedicated volunteer, Val Sanderson, who led the organisation for 20 years until his death in 1945.

He used a host of creative ways to educate New Zealanders about te taiao nature, including commissioning bird paintings and political cartoons, and publishing articles, books, and magazines.

“The 26 Forest & Bird Centennial Project is an opportunity to recognise the mahi of our volunteers, while inspiring people to use their creativity to protect te taiao,” said Forest & Bird’s chief executive Nicola Toki.

“The writers and artists have captured the fragility and beauty of nature while raising awareness of the importance of working locally to bring back wildlife.”

A Forest & Bird thank you to the 26 creatives involved in 26 Forest & Bird Centennial: Writers: Chris Bowring, Lee Ryan, Leah Royden, Paul White, Lindsey Dawson, Scott Moyes, Catherine McDonald, Jayne Workman, Hayden Maskell, Jane Berney, Gail Ingram, Richard Pamatatau, Sue Heggie. Artists: Amy Parlane, Cathy Hansby, Sophia Nouchi, Simon Dowling, Dannika Tukua, Sophie Lankovsky, Lee ByfordDanes, Anya Greenwood, Sam Hughes, Amelia Hadfield, Georgette Thompson, Lynette Hartley, Gabby Mckenzie.

The final four projects – Ark in the Park, Auckland, Blowhard Bush, Hawke’s Bay, Calder Green, Christchurch, and Fensham Reserve, Wairarapa – will be unveiled in February 2024. You can find out more at www.forestandbird.org.nz/about-us/ ourhistory/26-forest-bird-centennial.

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II N N T TH HE E F F II E EL LD D

CRAFTY

CUCKOOS

Riroriro feeding shining cuckoo after the cuckoo’s mother laid an egg in its nest.

Robin Jones

The trick to successful nest parasitism is to not unduly harm one’s hosts, as our visiting trickster cuckoos have learned over many generations. Ann Graeme

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iroriro, the grey warbler, is trilling a soft sound of “peculiar sweetness” in my garden, as Sir Walter Lawry Buller would say. Riroriro’s song proclaims his status. He has a territory, and it offers food and a nesting place to his mate.

This morning, I also heard pīpīwharauroa, the shining cuckoo, singing his signature tune – tzeet, tzeet, tzeet, tzeet, tzeet – ending with a downbeat whistle. He has no territory to defend, no nest to build, no chicks to feed. All he offers to his mate is an egg-fertilising service.

The grey warbler is a relatively recent arrival from Australia. This history is reflected in its nest, a dangling, pear-shaped structure with its entrance from the side, an adaptation giving protection from predators like snakes. The shape makes the nest less accessible to rats and cats.

But the nest is not out of reach of the shining cuckoo. Lurking in the bushes, she watches and waits

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until it is left untended. Then, like lightning, she swoops in, lays her egg, grabs the riroriro egg and flies off with it in her beak.

When her egg hatches, the cuckoo chick, still blind and naked, will evict any remaining riroriro eggs or chicks. It will shovel them, one by one, on to its back and heave them out of the nest.

Now the shining cuckoo chick will have the undivided attention of its foster parents, the hapless riroriro. They are going to have to work hard to catch enough insects to feed the huge, demanding imposter.

What despicable behaviour!

That cheating, underhand, lazy cuckoo! Those noble, doughy little riroriro!

Whoa! That is our righteous indignation, but nature is indifferent to human morals.

Natural selection rewards winners, and, for millions of years, the relationship between the shining cuckoo and the warbler has evolved and endured and been successful.

The trick to successful parasitism is to not unduly harm one’s hosts, for their decline will be your demise.

The shining cuckoo is a migrant, and it arrives in spring, when the riroriro have already reared their first brood of chicks. The cuckoos may parasitise about half of the second clutches of nests, but enough riroriro chicks will survive to maintain a healthy population.

In fact, it’s the cuckoo population that is at greater risk of decline.

The pīpīwharauroa spends the winter in the Solomon Islands

Pīpīwharauroa shining cuckoo.

Craig Mckenzie

and the islands of Papua New Guinea. Their habitat, and that of countless other species, is the tropical rainforest. There it is being destroyed and replaced with the wildlife deserts of palm oil plantations that feed our insatiable appetite and our growing population.

Even when a shining cuckoo reaches Aotearoa, there are new dangers. Many people meet their first pīpīwharauroa when it’s dead.

Cats often catch them, and the birds have an alarming propensity to fly into windows. You can avoid this by using window decals, semitransparent transfers that, from the inside, are barely visible to the human eye, yet are bright and bold to the bird outside.

Koekoeā long-tailed cuckoo.

Mike Ashbee

Our other cuckoo species, koekoeā, the Pacific long-tailed cuckoo, is much larger than the shining cuckoo and seen much less often. It too arrives here in spring from the Pacific Islands, and, if you hear its harsh screeching, look for its long-tailed silhouette flying high above.

The bird will be going to the forests to seek out the nests of its

chosen foster parents, pōpokotea whiteheads in the North Island and mohoua yellowheads or pīpipi brown creepers in the South Island.

Brown creepers, whiteheads, and yellowheads are small insect-eating birds that belong to a family found only in New Zealand. These three species alone host the cuckoo, making koekoeā an endemic species!

In contrast, our shining cuckoo is a sub-species. Other sub-species of shining cuckoos find various hosts in other places, including Australia and some Pacific Islands.

Back in the forest, koekoeā is on the hunt for nests, but, being too big to hide among the leaves like the shining cuckoo, it is often mobbed by smaller forest birds.

Perhaps they are aware that it doesn’t just take an egg from its chosen host but eats the eggs of many forest birds too.

Koekoeā also puts a single egg in its host’s nest (this task may be easier as pōpokotea and pīpipi build cup-shaped nests), and the chick ejects the homeowner’s eggs and chicks.

And, like the shining cuckoo, its parasitic relationship has been disturbed. The long-tailed cuckoo’s endemic host populations have shrunk, first because of forest clearance and now because of predation by rats, cats, stoats, and possums.

Cuckoos are the species best known for fobbing off their family responsibility, a behaviour more properly called “brood parasitism”.

But they are not the only ones.

Brood parasitism has evolved in seven different bird families, including songbirds and ducks.

Building a nest and rearing chicks is hard work, as the little riroriro parents could tell you. If you can trick someone else into doing it, you will have fulfilled the need to reproduce and have more time to forage and lay more eggs.

It seems a win-win behaviour, yet it has only been adopted by about 1% of bird species. There are

Grey warbler nest.

Ngā Manu Images

costs, and one of biggest may be the availability and gullibility of suitable hosts. It takes time for a cuckoo to scout out a potential nest at the right stage of incubation and find an opportunity to slip in an egg, unseen by the owners.

And not all birds are easily deceived. Pīpipi brown creepers scrutinise and throw out about half of the eggs the long-tailed cuckoos lay in their nests. On balance, it looks as though in nature, as in human society, there is no free lunch.

Pīpipi brown creeper.

Paul Sorrell

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OUR PEOPLE The trackless Firth Reserve is a haven for local wildlife.

Cate Hennessy

FOREST GIFT

Ted Firth left a huge legacy for nature that his family still upholds today.

Cate Hennessy

O

n the slopes of Mt Pirongia in the Waikato lies a small nature reserve quietly going about its business. Without tracks, and surrounded by farmland, this 5.2ha patch of native bush provides a vital corridor for native wildlife travelling to and from nearby Pirongia Forest Park.

The Firth Reserve was gifted to Forest & Bird in 1977 by a far-sighted and nature-loving Hamiltonian, Edward (Ted) Firth, who wanted to see this area of regenerating bush protected.

Ted had bought 140ha of land in the 1950s, including this area of ngahere, primarily to prevent logging, which he knew would impact the Pirongia Forest if someone didn’t step in to stop it.

“Local Forest & Bird members told Dad there was a farmer on Mt Pirongia who was cutting down the bush to make fence posts to earn a living. So Dad went to see him and bought the farm,” explained his daughter Pamela Lim. “He was so kind, a real gentleman. We Ted Firth. all adored him. He was ahead of his time Supplied in terms of his love for nature, and my mother Gwen was the same.”

Ted Firth and his brother Tony were the founders of Firth Industries and came from a long line of entrepreneurs and pastoralists. Over six feet tall, the brothers were quite different in personality but shared a love of aviation, learning to fly at Auckland Aero Club and gaining their pilot licences in 1930.

After serving in World War II, Ted became chief

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flying instructor at the Elementary Flying Training School, Harewood. He returned to the family business, which saw two decades of rapid growth in the post-war years. Ted developed a strong interest in conservation in the 1950s after buying a rundown sheep and cattle property at Te Pahu on the lower slopes of Mt Pirongia.

Ted joined the Society in the 1950s, and the family learned about Forest & Bird growing up. He planted a patch of native bush in their home garden, in Hamilton, and took his family of six for bush walks, sharing the names of trees in Māori as well as English.

In 1987, Ted added a QEII covenant over a further 16.2ha surrounding Firth Reserve, securing it in perpetuity. His gift led to other Waipa District landowners protecting many of their areas of bush with QEII covenants too.

The Firth family enjoyed many holidays in a small army hut Ted placed at the edge of the reserve with spectacular wide views over the whole of the Waikato. The cabin was “offgrid”, with an outside long-drop, and the family cooked their meals over an open fire.

“We all spent time there walking the bush. It was those holidays at the cabin which helped ingrain a deep love of Pamela Lim the bush and ocean into us as teenagers,” said Pamela. “We took our kids there when they were little too.”

After being gifted the land, Forest & Bird fenced the

ngahere, protected it under the Reserves Act 1977, and planted windbreak trees, which accelerated the native forest’s regeneration.

Forty-five years on, the Firth Reserve area is rich in plant life, including the rare king fern, and in birdlife, including kererū, tūī, korimako bellbird, riroriro grey warbler, pīwakawaka fantail, kōtare kingfisher, and pōpōkotea whiteheads.

Its regenerating bush contains tawa, pigeonwood, mangeao, hīnau, lancewood, whau, tarata, pukatea, titoki, pūriri, kohekohe, rimu, kahikatea, miro, mamaku, kauri, and rewarewa.

TRUST IN NATURE

Ted and Gwen Firth established the EB Firth Trust in the 1960s to support conservation initiatives.

It’s a family affair, with each successive generation becoming trustees on their 18th birthday.

The Trust has made several generous donations to Forest & Bird over the years, including $20,000 during 2023 for our predator-free work.

“While we give to other groups, we are strongly supportive of Forest & Bird’s conservation mahi,” says trustee Anna Lim, who is Pamela’s daughter. “It’s a huge privilege being able to do this.”

“Because of my grandfather, we all have a passion for nature and a desire to protect it. My brother and I remember walking in the reserve with Anna Lim Grandad when we were younger.

“We’ve passed our interest in conservation and the natural environment on and now have our children coming onto the Trust, which will grow our trustees from seven to nine.

“We ignore our natural world at our peril. We just have to get it right.”

The cabin next to the reserve was a favourite holiday spot for the family.

Susan Firth.

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Kiwi U R B A N C O N S E R VA T I O N

IN THE CAPITAL

North Island brown kiwi, Remutaka.

Neil Hutton

After being locally extinct for more than a century, kiwi first returned to Wellington in 2000. How are they doing today? Alan Peck investigates.

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wo hundred years ago, Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui would have echoed to the sound of kiwi calling at night. The shrill call of the male pukupuku little spotted kiwi and his more melodic female mate would have been heard throughout the Wellington area.

And the equally noisy male rowi Ōkarito brown kiwi and the harsh call of his female mate would have reverberated along the region’s forested ridgelines and valleys. These were the two kiwi species naturally occupying the land we now call Greater Wellington.

Sadly, for well over 100 years, these sounds disappeared. The little spotted kiwi was extinct on the North Island by the 1870s and a few decades later on the South Island. Today, only about 1800 survive, living mainly on Kāpiti Island just north of Wellington.

We are lucky to have this species of kiwi at all. In 1912, five pukupuku were taken to Kāpiti Island in an attempt to ward off imminent extinction. Three bred, and they are the ancestors of all today’s little spotted kiwi.

Rowi fared no better. Today, there is only one natural population of about 450 in the Ōkārito forest and surrounds of South Westland.

The reintroduction of kiwi to the Wellington region began in April 2000, first in Karori Sanctuary, then Remutaka Forest Park, and most recently to the south and west of the capital (see map, right).

History was made in 1999, when a predator-proof fence was completed at the Karori Sanctuary now known as Zealandia. Protecting natural forest, streams, and reservoir lakes, the 225ha was just 3km from the Beehive. It became the first fenced eco-sanctuary of its kind in New Zealand and the first urban sanctuary in any capital city in the world.

One year later, it was considered safe to bring back several of Wellington’s lost species, among them pukupuku. Two introductions took place in 2000 and 2001, with a total of 40 birds being transferred from Kāpiti Island.

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The Zealandia population is now estimated at almost 200! Zealandia is now home to the second-largest population of little spotted kiwi in the country and the only wild population on the mainland.

Being half the size of the four other kiwi species, pukupuku are not capable of defending themselves against their number one enemy, the stoat, so a predator-free island or fenced mainland enclosure is necessary for their survival.

The kiwi at today’s Zealandia Ecosanctuary roam free in a safe environment that would have once been their natural home.

Little-spotted kiwi, Zealandia.

To the east Kimberley Collins of Wellington Harbour, the Remutaka Forest Park is a vast area of mature native forest, regenerating forest, and exotic (pine) forest.

From the late 1980s, a volunteer group, now known as the Remutaka Conservation Trust, began what was to become an extensive trapping network aimed at making the forest safer for native species.

By the early 2000s, the idea of reintroducing kiwi was hatched.

After battling significant official scepticism, the trust gained approval to Remutaka Forest Park kiwi release a small number habitat.

Rosemary Thompson of kiwi.

Six North Island brown kiwi, bred in captivity and of mixed provenance, were obtained and released in the Remutaka range as a trial in May 2006.

It quickly became evident that the Remutaka forest environment was suitable for kiwi. The birds were breeding, with the eggs laid being the first in that area for about 100 years.

This success resulted in approval to release more kiwi, and a second translocation of 20 kiwi from Little Barrier Island was completed in 2009. Since then, kiwi have dispersed throughout the Remutaka Forest Park.

Volunteers now tend more than 2000 traps across an area of 7500ha. The kiwi (estimated population 200) are closing in on the Wainuiomata township, and kiwi calls can be heard at night throughout the area.

It was the first time a kiwi conservation project of this magnitude had been initiated, managed, and funded solely by a community-based organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Save The Kiwi kōhanga sites, such as Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, are at or near carrying capacity and need to find appropriately large sites at scale, with sufficient pest control, to release kiwi.

Enter the awardwinning Capital Kiwi Project, which is committed to restoring a wild kiwi population across a huge area of hill country south and west of Wellington City, stretching from Red Rocks to Porirua.

Capital Kiwi founder Paul Since November Ward monitoring kiwi, Skyline 2022, a total of 63 kiwi walkway, Karori. nui North Island brown kiwi have been successfully introduced into the scrubcovered hills of Terawhiti Station above Mākara. The first 13 came from Ōtorohanga Kiwi House (with gifting iwi Ngāti Hinewai), and the next 50 from Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari (with Ngāti Korokī Kahukura) in May 2023.

So far, the signs are promising, with the birds pairing up and gaining weight. Traps are serviced by Capital Kiwi contractors on private land and by volunteers on public land. Together, they are clearing more than 4600 traps across an area the size of the Abel Tasman National Park. The plan is to release up to 250 kiwi over the next few years.

At the moment, Wellington’s kiwi live in relatively isolated areas or behind a predator-proof fence. Can we imagine a future where kiwi are popping up next to your garden fence?

Although wild kiwi encounters are fairly common in places such as Rakiura Stewart Island, Russell, Aotea

Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel, and REMUTAKA CAPITAL KIWI CONSERVATION other locations TRUST around the ZEALANDIA country, these are all sparsely inhabited areas close to forests and other kiwi habitat.

It is highly probable that people living in the outer limits of Karori and parts of Wainuiomata, Whitemans Valley, Stokes Valley, Makara, and Ōhwiro Bay will one day have kiwi at their fences.

But the idea of a true urban (or even suburban) kiwi is likely to remain an unrealisable dream.

Apart from the hostile environment and fragmented habitats, there are the city’s dogs and cats to contend with. Kiwi seldom survive encounters with dogs, and cats are a significant threat to young kiwi.

Let’s just appreciate how the hard work and initiative of hundreds of dedicated enthusiasts have resulted in more than 450 kiwi in our backyard when, less than 25 years ago, there were none.

Alan Peck is a retired naval officer and pursues his wildlife interests as an active member of the Remutaka Conservation Trust and as a guide at Zealandia.

KILLS FOES NOT FRIENDS PINDONE PELLETS are a cost-effective way to control possums and rats, approved for use in sensitive environments. Very low risk of primary or secondary poisoning to domestic pets and native wildlife.

For more information, go to keyindustries.co.nz Summer 2023

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FOREST & BIRD

HIGHLIGHTS AND

WINS 2023

Thank you for helping celebrate a century of conservation mahi together! Here we feature some favourite moments from our centennial year so far, including a number of “firsts”.

JANUARY BAT BOOST A colony of pekapeka long-tailed bats was discovered in the Rai Valley, Marlborough, bringing new hope for this rarely seen endemic species. They were found in bush north of Forest & Bird’s Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project, an area that has been the subject of restoration plantings by our Nelson Tasman and Marborough Branches.

Volunteers started carrying out predator control to protect the newly found roosts from a local rat population caught eyeing one of the breeding sites.

Forest & Bird acknowledges many individuals and organisations, including Te Hoiere Project, Kotahitanga mō te Taiao Alliance, Ngāti Kuia, and Marlborough District Council for their continuing support for pekapeka protection at Pelorus.

AROWHENUA RESERVE Forest & Bird’s South Canterbury Branch saved an important stand of indigenous bush – the last remnant of tall forest left on the lower plains – and the land became the

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Society’s first reserve since 2006.

Branch members Fraser Ross and Robert Birks made significant gifts towards the nearly $400,000 total needed to buy the land and secure it for future generations. Fraser, 89, has been looking after Arowhenua Bush since 1977, a half-century labour of love supported by his branch, former landowners the Lyon family, and Arowhenua Station’s new owners the Bowman family.

South Canterbury Branch is working with the national office to create a management plan for the reserve. In October, the branch helped organise an exhibition at South Canterbury Musuem celebrating the 60+ years the branch has spent protecting nature in the region.

FEBRUARY HUGE STORMS Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle unleashed devastation in Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, the East Cape, and Coromandel in January and February. It was a disaster waiting to happen, as Forest & Bird’s field officer Basil Graeme warned back in 1990, when he visited the Tairāwhiti Gisborne region following 1988’s Cyclone Bola. He later wrote in this magazine: “Today the East Cape waits explosed and unprepared for the next cyclone.” That came to pass four decades later with two ex-tropical cyclones hitting

a month apart. Forest & Bird’s freshwater advocate Tom Kay immediately started touring the country, giving presentations to councils and at local events, many organised by our branches. Our regional conservation managers joined Tom in their regions, and they explained how nature-based solutions, set out in our Making Room for Rivers, Every Wetland Counts, and Four Forests for Climate campaigns, can be deployed to protect communities from future extreme weather events. By November, Tom had presented to 39 groups, including 11 councils.

Auckland Council subsequently moved to prioritise nature-based solutions through its Making Space for Water plan. Forest & Bird also lobbied the government, including presenting at the Environment Committee, to adopt nature-first policies and address barriers, including funding, that are stopping councils implementing these kinds of solutions.

WORLD WETLANDS DAY Forest & Bird commissioned new research and published a report revealing thousands of drained wetlands on public land could be brought back to life. In our Every Wetland Counts campaign, we have been showing it is possible to rewet swamps that have been drained for pasture and how healthy wetlands can protect communities from the climate impacts, such as rising sea levels, while providing healthy habitat for freshwater native species, including birds, fish, and insects.

Wetlands are hard-working climate wonders filtering and replenishing water supply, storing carbon, blunting the impacts of floods and storms, boosting eco-tourism, and enhancing wellbeing.

MARCH FORCE OF NATURE CONCERT Our Centennial year kicked off with a sold out Force of Nature concert premiere at the Auckland Arts Festival. Inspired by Forest & Bird’s conservation work, eight New Zealand composers created original chamber music works and took the audience on a poignant journey through our fragile natural world, from majestic braided rivers and soaring Antipodean albatross to the tiny creatures inhabiting a forest floor, while paying tribute to kaitiaki conservation volunteers looking after native habitats all over the country. The concert received great reviews from the public and critics alike. It was followed by performances in Wanaka, Christchurch, and Nelson.

BIG BIRTHDAY BASHES Hundreds of supporters joined us to celebrate Forest & Bird’s 100th birthday in three stunning landscapes of significance to the Society – Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, near Whanganui, Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, Marlborough, and our Lenz Reserve, in the Catlins.

Several branches also organised local birthday events, including Golden Bay, North Canterbury, West Coast, and Manawatū. There were family-friendly conservation activities, a birthday cake competition, and lots of trips down memory lane during the popular events. A huge thank you to everyone, branches, volunteers, and staff who helped organise all of these events.

EXTINCTION THREAT Statistics NZ revealed that more than 75% indigenous reptile, bird, bat, and freshwater fish species groups are currently threatened with extinction or are at risk of becoming threatened. In the aftermath of Statistics NZ’s sobering environmental indicators report,

chief executive Nicola Toki called for a whole-of-government approach to prevent Aotearoa becoming the extinction capital of the world.

APRIL FOREST & BIRD STAMPS Marking our 100th birthday, Forest & Bird’s centennial stamp series, featuring Rachel Walker’s vibrant designs, proved hugely popular with the public and stamp collectors alike. The four stamps feature Kāpiti Island’s forest birds; the Tautuku gecko, southern rātā, and freshwater fishes of the Catlins; a tāiko black petrel, kauri forest, and the southern right whale of the Waitākere Ranges; and the pepe forest ringlet butterfly, Avatar moth, and rare coal measure ecosystem of the West Coast. Together, they represent the people fighting for our forests, freshwater, oceans, and climate.

NZ Post commissioned the stamps and created a set of collectables, including greetings cards, postcards, prints, and tea towels.

NO NEW MINES Forest & Bird’s legal team clocked up another win for Te Kuha, on the West Coast, the latest in a six-year campaign. Without our mahi, an open-cast coal mine on this pristine roadless wilderness would likely be consented by now, said Forest & Bird’s legal counsel Peter Anderson after the Environment Court ruled resource consents should not be granted for a mine on Te Kuha escarpment overlooking Westport.

At the time of writing, Te Kuha has been appealed to the High Court by Stevenson Mining. Meanwhile, Forest & Bird’s campaign to stop mining on conservation land continued. In April, staff travelled to Northland to support Whangaroa hapū members protesting two mineral mining applications on public conservation and Māori-owned land, including at Manginangina Scenic Reserve, Puketī Forest, among the last 1% of unlogged kauri forest in Aotearoa.

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SANDERSON’S WAY Kāpiti Mana branch, the local community, and Forest & Bird staff organised a joint tribute to Forest & Bird’s founder and first volunteer Ernest “Val” Sanderson. It took place over two days in Paekākāriki, Kāpiti Coast, where he lived for 20 years while leading the Society. A sign paying tribute to Sanderson’s life and legacy was unveiled in the Waikākāriki Wetland, next to the railway line. The wetland is being restored by local conservation group Ngā Uruoa, and its leader Paul Callister organised for the main path through the wetland – part of Te Araroa national trail – to be renamed Sanderson’s Way. It was wonderful to see more than a dozen members of Sanderson’s family, as well as mana whenua and local dignitaries, at the event, which included an Inspired by Sanderson exhibition, birthday cake, and speeches by Sanderson’s grandson Justin Jordan, branch chair Pene Burton-Bell, and Nicola Toki, who said: “Sanderson and his legacy prove we can make a difference for our wild places and wildlife – especially when we come together.”

MAY RIFLEMAN RELEASE Titipounamu settled into their new home at Forest & Bird’s Tarapuruhi Bushy Park Sanctuary, near Whanganui, this month, following a landmark hapu-tohapu translocation at the end of April. A total of 60 titipounamu, an

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ancient species of wren only found in Aotearoa, were released in the sanctuary, which is protected by a predator-free fence. The sanctuary is a partnership between Forest & Bird, the Bushy Park Trust, and members of local iwi Ngaa Rauru, including Tamahereroto, Ngāti Pukeko, and Ngāti Maika hapū. The hapū-to-hapū translocation – a first for Bushy Park – took place thanks to the generosity of Taranaki Maunga hapū, who gifted the birds to Bushy Park and gave each one a name.

MIMIWHANGATA MPAs Forest & Bird and Fish Forever are thrilled three areas of the Northland coast will be protected as a result of an Environment Court decision.

Two areas around Mimiwhangata peninsula, in the Bay of Islands, will be acknowledged as rāhui tapu and fishing will be prohibited. A third area, around Rākaumangamanga Cape Brett, will have a bottom trawling and purse seining ban. The newly protected areas were signed off by the Conservation Minister in October. It comes after Forest & Bird’s legal team and Fish Forever worked with kaumātua of Ngāti Kuta and Te Uri o Hikihiki to appeal the Northland Regional Council’s Regional Plan for Northland, which did not include fishing controls. They used legal precedents established in the Bay of Plenty by the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust that ruled regional councils can protect significant native biodiversity in the sea out to 12 nautical miles.

JUNE CLIMATE CAMPAIGN Forest & Bird, together with Oxfam Aotearoa and Greenpeace Aotearoa, launched Climate Shift: A 10-point plan for action. It called on Ministers, MPs, and political parties to take action and urgently address the climate crisis. If implemented, this plan would result in real emissions reductions, support frontline communities, and restore and rewild nature. The campaign is supported by 36 other climate, social justice, and environmental groups, and more than 16,000 New Zealanders signed the Climate Shift petition. Forest & Bird wants to see nature-based solutions at the heart of Aotearoa’s climate response, with policies to control browsing mammals, promote native reforestation, provide for ecosystem-managed fisheries, and double the area of wetlands.

WOMEN IN CONSERVATION Our Winter issue profiled six heroines in our society’s history – Perrine Moncrieff, Amy Hodgson Elizabeth Gilmer, Violet Rucroft, Lily Daff, and Audrey Eagle. The profiles were based on research carried out

by Masters student Tess Tuxford, of Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, who received a Forest & Bird history scholarship and was given access to our archives. She showed how these six women engaged with conservation through science, politics, education, and the arts, overcoming barriers to become leaders in their respective fields.

Forest & Bird is working with the National Library of New Zealand to host an International Women’s Day event next March celebrating women’s voices in conservation past and present. A series of educational workshops will support young women aged 14–25 years to become conservation leaders of the future.

JULY CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE Our first in-person conference since 2019 was an invigorating call to action, a celebration of the remarkable achievements of Forest & Bird to date, and a chance to plan for the next 100 years of conservation mahi. Its theme “Inspiring bold leadership in a time of crisis” brought iwi leaders, industry executives, academics, journalists, and young environmental kaitiaki to the stage to debate the issues and answer questions from the audience.

President Mark Hanger kicked off proceedings with an illustrated presentation of Forest Bird’s wins over the past century, setting the scene for an uplifting day of kōrero, debate, and challenging ideas. Chief executive Nicola Toki gave a keynote address calling for transformative thinking, including prioritising nature-based solutions to create a better world for our tamariki.

Conference MC Jesse Mulligan chaired a series of engaging panel discussions, including the future of conservation, the role of big business and farming in the climate crisis, and why iwi and young people should

be at the heart of all environmental decision-making.

NATURE’S VOICES Forest & Bird’s conservation award winners of 2023 were celebrated during a sold-out Sanderson Dinner, with Dame Anne Salmond giving the keynote address. The following day, Nicola Toki planted a tōtara to mark Forest & Bird’s 100th anniversary at Wellington Branch’s Tanera Gully restoration project in the heart of the capital. Another conference weekend highlight was Elisabeth Easther performing her one-woman show A Rare Bird, a tribute to the pioneering conservationist and Forest & Bird founder member Perrine Moncrieff. Delegates also enjoyed Feathers and Foliage – an exhibition of nature-inspired art organised by the Wellington Branch to mark Forest & Bird’s centennial. In June, we launched a search for Aotearoa New Zealand’s unsung conservation heroes, with nominees receiving a certificate of appreciation of their work to protect te taiao. Nominations remain open until February 2024, and anyone can take part.

AUGUST LOVE THE GULF Forest & Bird has spent more than a decade campaigning for the Hauraki Gulf to be protected. In a historic move, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced his government would legislate for 19 new marine protection areas and introduce a

Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan to reduce the impact of fishing. The Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill passed its first reading in August but will need the support of the new government to become law. Last December, Forest & Bird launched the Arohatia Tīkapa Moana Love the Gulf campaign, led by Bianca Ranson. As a Waiheke Island resident, Bianca has witnessed the Gulf’s ecological decline firsthand and is determined to help preserve it for generations to come.

Together with our Hauraki Gulf Alliance partners, Bianca handed over a 36,589-signature petition to end bottom trawling to Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Rachel Brooking in June. The signatures had been gathered by Forest & Bird, Greenpeace, Legasea, and WWFNew Zealand.

TARAKIHI WIN A historic Forest & Bird legal win in the Court of Appeal sent a clear message that the government must put sustainability before commercial interests when deciding fisheries catch limits. In 2019, Forest & Bird’s legal team sought a judicial review of Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash’s decision regarding East Coast tarakihi catch limits. The Minister said the stock should be rebuilt over 10 years but extended this to 20 after industry lobbying. He also decided to reduce the catch limit by about 10%, although Forest & Bird believed a much larger cut was needed for a sustainable

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fishery. Two years later, the High Court found the Minister had made an error of law. This decision was appealed to the Court of Appeal, and Forest & Bird won that case too, with the Court upholding the original decision. At the time of writing, fishing interests had sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

SEPTEMBER 26 FOREST & BIRD CENTENNIAL We launched this creative conservation project to highlight the importance of conservation volunteers in restoring nature.

Forest & Bird worked with 26 New Zealand writers and artists who were randomly paired up and asked to visit 13 of our 120+ branch-led conservation projects around the country. The artists created original artworks inspired by the landscape, people, species, and conservation challenges encountered during their visits. Writers were tasked with creating a centena poem of exactly 100 words that had to start and finish with the same three words.

They wrote an accompanying 260-word essay reflecting on their experience. The writing and artworks are being published in three stages in this magazine and online, with the final four being released in February 2024.

BROWSING MAMMALS Federated Farmers, the New Zealand Institute of Forestry, and Forest & Bird took the unprecedented step of writing a joint letter to political parties before the general election, expressing our concerns about

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browsing mammal impacts on farming, forestry, and nature. They called for urgent action to control exploding populations of leaf-eating pests, such as wallabies, deer, goats, and pigs. We asked for targeted funding and a strategic approach to bring about a reset in pest numbers across the country. It is one of a kete of nature-based solutions to reduce climate emissions that Forest & Bird has been highlighting throughout the year. Meanwhile, awesome mahi from Forest & Bird Dunedin Branch members, 350 Aotearoa, and others led to the Dunedin City Council adopting a higher investment Zero Carbon 2030 Plan – the first council in Aotearoa to have one!

OCTOBER NEW MARINE RESERVES Thank you to everyone who supported our nearly decade-long campaign to secure a network of marine reserves in the Southern Ocean. Ministers announced six new no-take marine reserves off Otago and Southland, the first of their kind in Aotearoa for more than a decade. Species to benefit include hoiho yellow-eyed penguins, toroa northern royal albatross, pakake New Zealand sea lions, and kororā little blue penguins, as well as reef fishes and crustaceans. The 16-member South-East Marine Protected Area

Forum, comprising mana whenua, commercial and recreational fishers, and representatives for marine, tourism, community, and environmental interests, was established in 2014. Forest & Bird’s representative was Sue Maturin.

Thanks to the thousands of you who submitted in favour of the Forum’s recommended marine reserves.

VOTE NATURE Despite our best efforts, the general election was dominated by nonconservation issues, such as the cost of living crisis, crime, and taxes. While there were little slivers of hope, including Chris Luxon and Chris Hipkins both pledging to add feral cats to the Predator Free 2050 list for eradication, there was little public debate about the climate crisis and how to respond to it. Thanks to those of you who supported our Vote Nature campaign, especially the branches and Youth hubs that organised candidates’ meetings. Together, we reached hundreds of thousands of Kiwis, and we will continue to put pressure on the new government to introduce progressive environmental policies, restore climate health, and reverse biodiversity loss. This included sending letters to incoming Ministers setting out Forest & Bird’s key policy asks for restoring nature and the climate.

NOVEMBER BIRD OF THE CENTURY There was another equally hardfought electoral contest this year – our first Bird of the Century. We decided to search for the native bird that has captured New Zealanders’ hearts over the past 100 years. Five extinct birds were added to the candidate line-up, and the stage was set for our most memorable competition yet, after US TV host John Oliver campaigned for pūteketeke and took New Zealand birds to the world. The inaugural Bird of the Year competition took place in 2005, as a poll included in Forest & Bird’s first email newsletter, with tūī taking out the title. The idea for our universally popular Bird of the Year competition came from conservationist Michael Szabo, who at the time was editor of Forest & Bird magazine.

FUTURE CONSERVATIONISTS Kiwi Conservation Club turned 35 this year (see page 56) and has been busy celebrating this milestone and Forest & Bird’s 100th birthday during the year. Hundreds of KCCers took part in centennial pātai challenges, including making cakes and creating postage stamp designs. KCC has 23 branches and 58 KCO volunteers, and its membership is on track to rise by nearly 10% this year. Its Wild Things magazine continues to be popular with young readers – look out for the first issue of 2024, which is all about fungi! Meanwhile, Forest & Bird Youth continues to go from strength to strength with a network

of hubs run by young people throughout Aotearoa. National codirector Connor Wallace stepped down after seven years and handed the reins to a new national director, Jessica Lamb, who has been involved in conservation mahi more than five years, including as a leader or the Rotorua and Christchurch Youth Hubs. Jess is studying for a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Geography at the University of Canterbury.

DECEMBER THANKS TO YOU We connected with new audiences through our Centennial Celebrations, with more than 42 national and local events taking place over a 12-month period that ends in March 2024. Our chief executive Nicola Toki has travelled all over the country, attending many celebrations, meeting our volunteers, giving speeches, and eating lots of cake! We celebrated 100 years of conservation through a variety of innovative partnerships, working with artists, writers, poets, photographers, historians, archivists, and museums.

We published eight centennial magazines and used them to share our whakapapa, memories, and wins over the past century with Forest & Bird and KCC members. Branch committee members gave numerous 100th birthday presentations, wrote newspaper columns, and organised local history exhibitions.

We launched a Centennial Speaker series featuring experts talking

about various topics, from forest bathing and Westland petrels to conservation heroes, postage stamps, and sustainable fashion.

Forest & Bird is 100% independent, and we rely on you, our generous supporters, to carry out our vital conservation work. This includes managing 140 boots-on-the-ground conservation projects throughout the country. This includes managing 140 boots-on-the-ground conservation projects throughout the country.

This year, we received the largest bequest in our history, when Brian Clemens, of Christchurch, chose to leave $3m in his will to help protect nature for future generations. In another first, the Willocks family gifted a website to Forest & Bird in memory of their late daughter Penny.

We are now managing and growing the Give a Trap platform, which gifts free traps to community groups (see Autumn 2023).

We couldn’t do any of this without all of you – our donors, members, volunteers, staff, and partners. As Nicola Toki said in her conference speech: “It’s people that make up the heart of the Society, so I must thank the Forest & Bird whānau for coming together to make change for wildlife and wild places – our board, our staff, our branches, our donors, our volunteers, our Kiwi Conservation Club, and our Youth Network.” There are many challenges ahead, but we are looking forward to F&B’s next 100 years ... and counting.

This 2023 highlights article was compiled by Caroline Wood.

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LOADER CUP

HARDING WINS PLANT “OSCAR” Ecologist and former Forest & Bird staffer Mike Harding scooped the Loder Cup for more than 30 years of flora conservation, particularly of dryland and alpine habitats.

K

nown colloquially as the “Oscar for plant people”, the prestigious Loder Cup is presented annually by the Minister of Conservation to a person or group to celebrate their outstanding achievements in native plant conservation.

Mike Harding worked as a Forest & Bird field officer from 1989 to 1993 and at the Department of Conservation, before going on to forge a career as one of New Zealand’s leading plant ecologists.

His frank advice as an independent consultant has been particularly important in the Canterbury high country and the Mackenzie Basin, an area constantly under threat from development, where he’s been a leading voice for nature, especially native plant life.

“Mike has built a professional reputation that is universally respected,” said Nicky Snoyink, Forest & Bird’s Canterbury and West Coast conservation manager.

“He has shown an outstanding ability to work with private landowners to help them understand the special areas of habitat they have on their properties and build their support to protect them.”

Mike led efforts to study and protect the Godley’s buttercup, Ranunculus godleyanus, in Arthur’s Pass.

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His work determined the northern geographical limit of the species in the Hawdon River East Branch.

It also identified the impacts of uncontrolled browsers, such as deer, chamois, and hares, on this vulnerable species.

Mike continues to advocate for this rare endemic alpine buttercup and other high country plant species throughout the Waimakariri Basin and elsewhere in the high country.

As an independent plant ecologist, Mike provides ecological assessments, management plans, protection strategies, weed assessment, and control plans. He also gives expert evidence in the Environment Court.

Mike was nominated for the Loder Cup by Forest & Bird, with supporting letters from many parties, including representatives from the Christchurch City and Tasman District Councils, environmental consultants, and the forestry industry.

“Mike’s expertise, courage, professionalism, strategic thinking, dedication, and ability to work with a wide range of people shone through in his nomination, which included nine letters of support,” said former Conservation Minister Willow-Jean Prime, who presented the award in October in Christchurch.

“Of note is Mike’s extensive survey work to identify Significant Natural Areas for several councils, including more than 770 sites across more than 200 properties in the Timaru district and 138 sites in the Waitaki district, as well as sites in the Mackenzie Basin.

“He has also put in countless hours of unpaid work to benefit New Zealand’s indigenous flora and is well deserving of the Loder Cup.” Our alpine and dryland ecosystems are home to about half of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most threatened plant species.

“Forest & Bird was delighted to nominate Mike for the Loder Cup, and we’re absolutely stoked his lifelong mahi investigating, promoting, and cherishing the indigenous flora of Aotearoa New Zealand has been recognised,” said chief executive Nicola Toki.

Godley’s buttercup.

iNaturalist/Peter Sweetapple

BEQUESTS

LEAVING A LEGACY It’s easier than ever to make a will that ensures the people, pets, and causes you value the most are looked after when you are gone.

Toutouwai South Island robin.

Jake Osborne

O

ver the past 100 years, the generosity and foresight of thousands of New Zealanders have been vital in allowing Forest & Bird to continue to advocate effectively for te taiao nature.

People like Valerie Lambeth, of Wellington, who recently left more than $800,000 as a gift in her will to the Society, make a huge contribution to nature protection, a cause she cared deeply about.

Not everyone can afford to be as generous as Valerie, and for most New Zealanders it’s not about the size of the gift that matters – it’s about the intention they have in leaving the money.

“Sadly, we don’t know what spurred Valerie to support Forest & Bird in this way as we were not aware she was leaving a bequest, and her executors weren’t able to shed much light on her motivations,” says bequests manager Jo Prestwood.

“But we can be sure it was because our work protecting and restoring the natural world resonated with her outlook on life and the kind of future she wanted for her family, friends, and community.”

About 85% of New Zealanders want to leave a legacy that goes beyond money and assets, and make sure they’re passing on things like values to live by, happiness, and a good upbringing, according to a survey commissioned this year by Public Trust, New Zealand’s largest provider of wills.

But only half of us have actually made a will, according to the survey.

“A will is such an important life document. Wills help make sure the people and things that matter most to you are looked after once you’re gone,” says Glenys Talivai, chief executive of Public Trust.

She advises that any adult with more than $15,000 in cash, assets, or investments (including KiwiSaver) in any one institution needs to make a will.

FREE WILLS

Forest & Bird has partnered with Gathered Here to offer a 100% free online will-writing service for our supporters.

Online wills are rising in popularity, and Forest & Bird is working with trusted provider Gathered Here to offer a free service to our supporters.

The Australian company recently launched its service in New Zealand, and its website walks people through the process of writing a legally binding will.

Once that is done, you just need to print it and have it witnessed and signed.

If your estate is complicated, this might not be the best option for you. But if it’s straightforward, take a look and see if creating an online will works for you.

Gathered Here’s website is designed to help people make charitable giving as easy as possible. To do that, its will-making service is completely free. It’s also free to update your online will anytime in the future.

It’s able to cover the cost because of the support of its charity partners, including Forest & Bird and many other leading national and international charities. You don’t need to leave anything to charity to use the free service. It’s completely up to you.

To find out more, go to www.gatheredhere.com. au/c/forest-and-bird-nz.

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P E S T- F R E E N Z

Female tūturuatu with grey face and half red bill.

LIFERAFT FOR TŪTURUATU

Shore plovers are one of the world’s rarest shorebirds and need a huge helping hand to survive. Peter Lo and Helen Jonas Peter Lo

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otearoa has more than its share of critically endangered species, and tūturuatu shore plover is one of the less well-known members of this group, despite it being a colourful and attractive bird. Perhaps it’s because they have been extinct on the mainland for about 150 years.

Shore plover are endemic to New Zealand, but with a total population currently hovering around 250 birds they are in imminent danger of disappearing forever.

These engaging little birds were once found around much of New Zealand’s coastline, but by about 1880 they were confined to a single location in Rēkohu, the Chatham Islands.

The Department of Conservation initiated a translocation programme nearly 30 years ago to reduce the risk of shore plover becoming extinct.

Captive-bred juveniles were released on four predator-free islands, with mixed results, while Mangere Island, in Rēkohu, was repopulated by wild juveniles from neighbouring Rangitira.

Today, tūturuatu are restricted to Mangere, Rangitira, Motutapu, and Waikawa Islands. Translocations to Motuora and Mana Islands eventually failed.

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Tūturuatu were first translocated to Waikawa, also known as Portland Island, in 1999. The tiny windswept island, which lies 1.3km off the end of Mahia Peninsula, has a rich history of being home to Māori for 600 years. We have been looking after shore plover on Waikawa, in the Hawke’s Bay, for many years, with the support of the owners, mana whenua, DOC staffers, and local community, including Rocket Lab staff.

The island is home to the largest number of shore plover outside Rēkohu, as well as tuturiwhatu New Zealand dotterels, tōrea oystercatchers, tītī petrels, migratory birds, and kekeno seals.

Tūturuatu feed on tidal rock platforms, where they glean invertebrates from the shallows.

On Waikawa, they also make use of the sandy beaches. Although

quite large, at approximately 140ha, only the northern tip has suitable breeding areas.

From 1999, numbers increased steadily to around 80 birds, including 37 breeding pairs.

However, in 2012, the population suddenly crashed and fell to as low as 10 birds, with four pairs.

After extensive trapping and poisoning, the efforts of a trained dog eventually revealed the culprit was a rat. The rodent was never found, but the dog located a rat nest with scats.

It was possibly a single individual that caused so much havoc. Subsequent tracking and searches with dogs found no further traces of a rat.

Since 2014, the tūturuatu population has almost recovered to its pre-rat strength, with some assistance from translocated birds.

Volunteers Kay Clapperton, Paul Dunford, Jim Walker, and Helen Jonas.

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Tūturuatu pairs on Waikawa Island

Number of pairs

35 30

Rat incursion

25 20 15 10 5 19 99 20 00 00 -0 1 20 01 -0 2 20 02 20 03 03 20 04 04 -0 5 20 05 -0 6 20 06 20 07 07 -0 8 20 08 -0 9 20 09 -10 20 10 -1 20 1 1112 20 12 -13 20 13 -14 20 14 -15 20 15 -1 20 6 16 -17 20 17 -18 20 18 20 19 19 -2 0 20 20 20 21 21 -2 2 20 22 -2 3

0

DARWIN ANT INCURSION The tūturuatu population on Waikawa Island now faces a new threat. In 2010, an aggressive invasive pest, Darwin ant, was discovered. This voracious forager outcompetes and displaces native ants and will swarm and kill newly hatched chicks. By 2014, the killer ants occupied most of the birds’ nesting area on the northern half of the sandspit.

The solution to Darwin ants is to apply poison baits to eradicate them from the spit. Baits are laid among the grass and rushes, and along the beach above high tide.

Part of the sandspit is temporarily fenced to keep sheep out, and within this area the gel-like bait can be applied to the ground using cartridges and caulking guns. It is not practical to fence off the beach, so here baits must be enclosed inside pottles to prevent sheep encountering them.

Each baiting operation is a logistical planning challenge, particularly in the post-Covid environment. Firstly, the weather gods need to co-operate to allow boat and/or helicopter transport to and from the island. A small team lands on the island several days before the main baiting event to prepare and lay out bait-filled pottles on the beach.

On the main baiting day itself, 24 people work in two groups of 12.

The bait does not stay attractive for long, so it needs to be put out quickly. A second team stays behind for a few days to retrieve and clean up the pottles and to check tracking tunnels for any sign of rats.

Results from the latest survey in October 2023 were encouraging.

No Darwin ants were found within the poisoned area, but a two-year gap in baiting has allowed them to extend their range southwards on one side of the spit. A small mopping-up operation will be needed to achieve eradication.

What does the future hold for these plucky birds? Tūturuatu will thrive on their Waikawa liferaft, so long as they continue to get help to repel the occasional marauder that tries to come aboard.

The island’s rare combination of suitable habitat and being free from mammalian predators (except mice) is what allows tūturuatu to prosper here. But Waikawa is close to the mainland, so constant vigilance is needed against further pest incursions to protect this special place and its endangered treasures.

We thank the shareholders of Tawapata South Inc for their continued direction and access to their whenua to care for the taonga of Waikawa.

Many Department of Conservation staff, volunteers, and Rocket Lab personnel have also participated in this project over many years. The expertise of DOC scientists Dr Chris Green (since retired) and Murray Fea, helicopter pilots, boat skippers, and contractors is gratefully acknowledged.

Helen Jonas is a Department of Conservation officer and the project leader for tūturuatu management on Waikawa Island.

Since 2013, Peter Lo has made six trips to Waikawa as a volunteer, and one to Rangatira.

Volunteer Kay Clapperton surveys prime shore plover habitat on Waikawa Portland Island, with Mahia Peninsula in background.

DOC staff and volunteers apply baits for Darwin ants.

Tūturuatu are delightful characters with an engaging personality. They hold territories when nesting and will approach intruders and greet them with a characteristic head bob as if to say “and who are you?” Although this habit is endearing for bird lovers, it leaves tūturuatu poorly adapted to cope with mammalian predators.

Furthermore, unusually for a shorebird, they nest under the cover of short coastal vegetation or among driftwood and rocks, which makes them especially vulnerable to introduced predators, including mustelids and feral cats. Other reasons for their decline include habitat loss, disease, predation by gulls and hawks, and being attacked by dogs.

The male shore plover has a black face, and the beak is mostly red.

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CENTENNIAL STORIES

I “CAN” MAKE A DIFFERENCE Ann Graeme with KCC kids, Conservation Week, 1992.

Forest & Bird

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orest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC) was the child of its times, established in the wake of a tumultuous 30-year period that saw a new generation of conservationists fighting for the future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s native forests, wild rivers, and vast oceans.

By the late 1980s, following a rapid growth in members, it became apparent many Forest & Bird members had children who wanted to be involved in conservation, but branches didn’t cater specifically for kid’s activities.

Of course, the Society had prioritised educating children about nature since its humble beginnings in 1923 (see Forest & Bird, Spring 2023), but it was clear a new child-centred approach was needed.

The suggestion for a kid’s club was made in 1987 by Gordon Ell, vice-president of the North Shore Branch, who said: “Young people are friends of the future. For tomorrow, they will be trustees of our national heritage.

Forest and Bird wants to secure their interests now.” A branch remit was put forward at the Society’s AGM and approved.

KCC was launched in May 1988 as an offshoot of Forest & Bird. Six months later, there were 3000 members.

The role of establishing KCC’s framework had been given to Andrea Lomdahl, an Australian conservationist who went on to write environmental books for children.

Andrea toured the country, speaking to branches about the KCC and encouraging members to volunteer as leaders for the children’s groups that would be set up all over the country.

Forest & Bird Distinguished Life Member Ann

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In the second part of our article about children in conservation, Emma Graham looks at the birth of the Kiwi Conservation Club.

Graeme played a huge role in KCC’s success, arriving just after Andrea and going on to lead KCC for two decades, including editing and writing its magazine.

She then served as a volunteer KCC coordinator for many years and is still an avid supporter today.

KCC’s mission was to engender a love for nature and the natural world among children, which was not hard in Ann’s eyes, as she believes children are innately fascinated by, and sympathetic towards, the environment.

Many of KCC’s systems established by Andrea and Ann were still in place 31 years later when I carried out research for my Masters research essay A Century of Children’s Involvement in New Zealand Conservation: The Role of the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society (Victoria University of Wellington, 2019).

First and foremost, Andrea and Ann wanted to encourage conservation activities that could happen in children’s own backyards, such as nature walks, predator control, education, arts and crafts, and other naturefocused activities.

Volunteer KCC coordinators were often retired teachers or parents who had previous experience First KCC poster, 1988. as educators, as well as Forest & Bird

science being encouraged. having a good and trusted rapport If you are led to Articles in the third issue provided with children. They knew the types of take pleasure in information on plastic pollution, nature-based activities that would be nature as a child, encouraged kids to go to the beach attractive for the kids. you won’t lose it. and survey an area (teaching them KCC was starkly different to other You might be busy, fieldwork techniques), and asked them groups such as Scouts and Guides, but you won’t lose it. to send in information on the size in that it was much less structured When you have the and types of plastics they found (Kiwi and is more inclined towards family time, and leisure, I Conservation Club Newsletter, 1989). participation. Most club supervisors Protecting the ozone layer was are parents, but they aren’t considered hope many people another early theme: “You too can play babysitters. will come back to it your part in protecting the ozone layer.”

Like its young members, KCC Ann Graeme KCC members were urged to gather coordinators came and went as their information on products in their own children grew up, and continuity of home that contained chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), send local leadership was and continues to be one of the the results to KCC, and write to prime minister David club’s biggest challenges.

Lange asking him to ban CFCs (Kiwi Conservation Club “With increasing urbanisation, families tend to Newsletter, 1989). spend less time in nature, and there is a growing anxiety around taking children into the bush as an inexperienced parent,” says Ann Graeme.

“For this reason, KCC tends to attract whole families, who are then able to see nature with confidence and safety as a group.”

KCC also wanted to create a dedicated educational resource for children, their families, and their schools and teachers. The first Kiwi KCC members presented their "Stop killing albatross" letters Conservation Club Newsletter, to Denis Marshall, Minister of Conservation, 1995. a single coloured broadsheet, Established in 2001, KCC’s website became another was posted out in May 1988. key engagement tool, providing an easy way for It was renamed Kiwi members and their parents to keep up to date with Conservation Club Magazine events in their region, as well as national campaigns. in 1994, and over time became Later, in 2015, children were encouraged to send in a full colour printed magazine. blogs to be published on the website.

It changed its name to Wild Today’s KCC website contains a large library of Things in November 2008 and The first KCC newsletter educational and citizen science activities and is of is still going strong today, the was published in May 1988. huge value for young members who live in remote only national conservation areas and cannot access a local KCC club for face-tomagazine for children in Aotearoa New Zealand.

From the start, the magazine had a clear purpose – Today’s Wild Things to engage children with conservation in a way that is magazine is popular with interesting, educational, and socially useful. Its first children and adults. issue said that it was for “young New Zealanders who care about the environment and want to make this earth a better place”.

As well as teaching the children about the beauty of nature, It focuses on the not so pretty aspects of conservation such as pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction.

The underlying goal was not to crush the enthusiasm of children but to teach them to see a problem that is real through the lens of being able to do something about it.

The magazine gave background information about serious issues and provided real and effective ways to tackle them, with citizen

→

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CENTENNIAL STORIES face activities. The resources align with the National Curriculum and are therefore useful for educators, teachers, and those who are home-schooling their children.

“The birth of the Kiwi Conservation Club was the single KCC members from Mercury Bay biggest contribution Area School. Elvisa van der Leden any environmental group has made for the benefit of children and the environment,” says Ann Graeme, who retired from KCC in 2013.

In 2015, a study by Bartlett et al found children’s conservation programmes were more successful when they worked in collaboration with each other towards a common goal – and most successful when utilised as part of the school curriculum.

Forest & Bird’s children’s programme stands out for incorporating all aspects of conservation, as well as providing a useful teaching resource for schools, alongside the established curriculum.

Today, our Kiwi Conservation Club | Hakuturi Toa continues to encourage child-centred conservation that puts children at the heart of everything it does.

Its motto – “I can make a difference” – is not just something we should be teaching our children but an attitude we should adopt in our own practice.

Young Bay of Plenty environmentalists and their families planted 100 trees at I’Anson Bush Reserve, Te Puna, in April to celebrate KCC’s 35th birthday and Forest & Bird’s Centennial.

Bare farmland has been restored to healthy native bush thanks to the mahi of Tauranga KCC, whose members planted 600 trees here in 1990, three years after Keith L’Anson donated the land for a local reserve, said branch coordinator Liesel Carnie.

FOREST & BIRD YOUTH

In 2016, young people approached the Society wanting to form their own groups, and Ngā Māhuri Tiaki Forest & Bird Youth was formed. It became an official national network in 2017.

Since the birth of KCC, young peole were being lost during their teenage years because there wasn’t a similar club for youth members aged 14–25. Forest & Bird Youth was designed to fill this gap.

This has been a remarkable project for the Society, as this age group has brought a new perspective, energy, and ideas to its conservation mahi and offers members a chance to grow their leadership skills, as well as further their own environmental interests.

While KCC is child-centred, Ngā Māhuri Tiaki is youth-led, with its own leadership structure, local hubs, and conservation priorities. With a mission to “take action for nature as youth, with youth, for youth”, its mahi is supported administratively by Forest & Bird’s national youth network support coordinator.

Today, a network of Youth Hubs operates throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, managing their own conservation projects and contributing to others, as well as organising workshops and advocacy campaigns, and taking part in climate marches.

Those who can’t access a local hub can take part in virtual hubs focusing on digital campaigning, online communications, and education.

In 2021, moves to formalise Youth involvement in Forest & Bird’s governance structures were unanimously agreed at June’s AGM. The Council now includes two Youth representatives, who are allowed to vote.

Ōtautahi Christchurch Youth Hub organised a “Planting with the Candidates” day in September, attended by James Shaw and Lan Pham.

Emma Graham delved into the Society’s archives for her 10,000-word research essay A century of Children’s Involvement in New Zealand Conservation: The Role of The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. This article is based on Emma’s research and findings, which were carried out in 2019 when Emma was a Masters student at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. Her work was supervised by environmental historia Dr James Beattie.

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Emma Graham

O U R PA R T N E R S

CREATING A

GOOD IMPRESSION

Go Media is helping charities such as Forest & Bird get noticed around the motu. Gretchen Carroll

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utdoor advertising company Go Media is locally owned and has operated nationwide for around 25 years. It’s been community-minded since its inception.

During the Covid pandemic, the company introduced Good Impressions, a way for its paying clients to donate free digital advertising spaces to charities such as Forest & Bird.

“Go Media had always given back to communities through ad hoc sponsorship, but we were looking for a way to formalise it,” explains Isabella Dervan, Go Media’s Marketing Manager.

“We came up with Good Impressions during the 2021 Auckland lockdown. We were going through a rebrand and looking to the future, so we decided to introduce a new concept of paying it forward.”

Every time a client signs a contract with Go Media, they are automatically signed up to Good Impressions.

For every dollar contracted, Go Media donates no less than five free advertising “impressions” (aka ad views), allowing the artwork of its partner charities to appear across a number of its digital billboards nationwide.

The client can choose to donate their impressions to charities that support the environment, wellbeing, and/or people. Within each category are recipient charities who each receive free advertising exposure.

Go Media started with 12 charities, and this increased to 15 this year. Forest & Bird has been there since the beginning.

“When we first came up with Good Impressions, we asked our staff for suggestions of which charities are close to their hearts or ones they had heard about within their communities,” adds Isabella.

“One staff member put forward Forest & Bird as she’s very much into the outdoors. We could all feel her passion.

“We like the strong commitment that Forest & Bird has to Aotearoa and to preserving our wildlife for so long. Also because you work nationwide, we can really help spread your message and mahi.

“Good Impressions doesn’t cost anyone anything extra. All it takes is a bit of participation and buying into the idea of it. It’s been really positive,” she says.

To date, Go Media has donated 78.9 million impressions, with that number rising daily.

“Go Media’s support through their Good Impressions initiative has given Forest & Bird far more visibility nationwide,” says our corporate fundraiser Alexandra Moyes.

“Our purpose is to give nature a voice, and its voice is being amplified on digital billboards in towns and cities across Aotearoa.

“We know we’re reaching more people than ever before and inviting them to support our mission to protect and restore our incredible wildlife and wild places.”

The Go Media team at a Good Impression launch event. From left: Isabella Dervan, Parris Downey, Aleisha Crowder, Andrea Rongonui, Mike Gray, and Simon Teagle.

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Holiday

READS 2023

Here is our annual round up of summer books for the nature-lovers in your life.

Fishes of Aotearoa New Zealand by Paul Caiger Seen through the eyes of marine ecologist and keen photographer Paul Caiger, this book is packed with stunning photography and fascinating stories about our best-known fish species, including the weird and wonderful. Fishes of Aotearoa New Zealand celebrates our rich marine worlds: freshwater, tidal, reefs, sedimentary, and deep ocean. Fascinating and comprehensive, Caiger delves into the sometimes secret lives of fishes, revealing insights into their characters and behaviours, including reproduction and sexual dimorphism, feeding and foraging, camouflage, schooling, and more.

Potton & Burton, hardback, RRP $79.99.

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Tongariro National Park: An Artist’s Field Guide by Desmond Bovey When Bovey returned to New Zealand after a long sojourn in France, he felt compelled to reconnect with the landscapes of his youth. Inspired by a chance encounter with a kārearea New Zealand falcon, he chose Tongariro National Park. Returning often, sketchbook in hand, Bovey applied his delicate brush as he reacquainted himself with the dramatic landforms and ecology of the volcanic plateau. Tongariro National Park is the result – this exquisite field guide contains 400 illustrations alongside comprehensive, accessible text.

Potton & Burton, paperback, RRP $39.99

On Everest: The Life of a Kiwi Mountain Guide by Guy Cotter

Tramping in Aotearoa: New Zealand’s Top 45 Tracks by Shaun Barnett

Kiwi mountaineer and mountain guide Guy Cotter has been leading guided ascents of Mt Everest for more than 30 years. On Everest, his riveting memoir, offers behind-thescenes glimpses into life in the mountains, the huge challenges faced by guides and climbers, and the life and death dramas that inevitably unfold. After the tragic deaths of New Zealanders Gary Ball on Dhaulagiri in 1993 and Rob Hall on Everest in 1996, Cotter rebuilt and now owns Adventure Consultants, an international guiding operation helping adventurers climb peaks across seven continents.

Potton & Burton, hardback, RRP $49.99

Acclaimed author, photographer, and guide Shaun Barnett’s top tramping guide features New Zealand’s most popular tramps, along with essential route information, the latest generation of overview maps, expert commentary, and outstanding photography. The fully revised edition of Tramping in Aotearoa showcases our best-known great walks, such as the Milford Track, and many lesser known tramps from around the motu, including the Kauearanga Kauri Trail in the Coromandel, the Travers-Sabine Circuit in Nelson Lakes, the newer Old Ghost Road in Kahurangi, and the Paparoa Track.

Potton & Burton, flexibound, RRP $49.99

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

The Forgotten Forest by Robert Vennell

CHILDREN’S CORNER

Deep in the forest, in places you would never think to look, is a remarkable world.

Meander between mushrooms and mosses, jostle with lichens and cavort with liverworts to discover how these ancient creatures have shaped the human story in Aotearoa.

Filled with beautiful historical artworks and illustrations, The Forgotten Forest is a celebration of the little things that pass us by and will forever transform a simple walk in the bush. Readers will learn about Māori use and understanding of these plants and fungi as tools, rongoā lore, as well as spiritual reflections from Te Ao Māori.

Harper Collins New Zealand, hardback, RRP $40

Critters of Aotearoa by Nicola Toki, illustrated by Lily Duval

Flora: Celebrating Our Botanical World edited by Carlos Lehnebach, Claire Regnault, Rebecca Rice, Isaac Te Awa, and Rachel Yates A heartfelt tribute to Aotearoa New Zealand’s flora, this glorious book mines Te Papa’s collections to explore and expand upon the way we think about our botanical world and its cultural imprint. It features more than 400 selections by an expert, cross-disciplinary museum curatorial team that range from botanical specimens and art to photography, furniture, jewellery, tīvaevae, applied art, textiles, stamps, and more. The 12 essays help us understand the unique characteristics of New Zealand flora and how artists and cultures have used it as a motif and a subject over time.

Te Papa Press, hardback, RRP $80

Salt: Coastal Connections by Terry Fitzgibbon Celebrating New Zealand’s coastline with breathtaking and evocative black and white photography accompanied by poetry, Salt captures the essence of beach life across Aotearoa and revels in the wonders of our coastline.

From dolphins, sea lions, and birds in their natural habitat to families having fun on the sand.

White Cloud Books, Upstart Press, RRP $49.99

Adults and children alike will delight in discovering New Zealand’s curious creatures — from Smeagol the gravel maggot to the drooping blobfish in this delightful children’s book written by our very own Nicola Toki, Forest & Bird’s chief executive. Capturing the whimsy and quirkiness of the Critter of the Week show on RNZ with Jesse Mulligan, Critters of Aotearoa turns the idea of beauty on its head to champion the hidden heart of our unique wildlife. Age guide: 8+ Penguin New Zealand, RRP $30

Mia & Leo Go Wild

by Gillian Candler & Gavin Mouldey Award-winning nature book writer Gillian Candler teams up with illustrator Gavin Mouldey and the Mountain Safety Council to create this entertaining and informative story for children about Mia and Leo’s first overnight tramp.

As Mia and Leo’s family are well prepared, they are able to help the other trampers. Age guide: 5–10 Potton & Burton, RRP $24.99

Adventures with Emilie

By Victoria Bruce A mother and daughter’s wild journey to rediscover the wonder and restorative power of nature. In 2021, Victoria Bruce quit her corporate job, packed up her life, and embarked on Te Araroa trail with her sevenyear-old daughter, Emilie.

On the 3000km journey that traverses the length of Aotearoa, the duo faced Covid lockdowns, the harsh elements of New Zealand’s backcountry, and even a near-death experience.

Penguin New Zealand, RRP $40 Summer 2023

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MARKET PLACE

Okarito Boat EcoTours

Rich in biodiversity, the landscape stretches from the Tasman Sea to the glaciers – one of the West Coast’s truly special places. Please join us as we share predator control efforts for our birds, regenerative planting programs for our waterways – all while being present to the sights and sounds of this beautiful wetland.

03-753 4223 OkaritoBoatTours@gmail.com www.okaritoboattours.co.nz

PHILPROOF WIPE OUT: Possums, Rodents,

Mustelids, Rabbits

Standard & Mini Possum Bait Stations & Timms Traps ■ Rodent Bait Stations and Block Baits ■ Rodent Snap Traps ■ Fenn Traps (MK4 & 6) ■ Trap Covers ■ DOC 200 trap and lightweight cover.

Also available: Monitoring Tunnels, Flagging Tape, Rabbit Bait Stations.

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• Heaphy Track • Abel Tasman • Old Ghost Road • Cobb Valley

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Nature at Night Tour With Earthlore Tours and Accommodation | Catlins

07 859 2943 MOBILE

Encounter long-tailed bats, experience a colony of luminescent glow worms and explore the night time bush.

WEB:

M 027 385 3182 W www.earthlore.co.nz E earthlore3@gmail.com

021 270 5896 PO Box 4385 Hamilton 3247 www.philproof.co.nz EMAIL:

philproof@gmail.com

FOREST & BIRD’S WILDLIFE LODGES Arethusa Lodge

Piha, West Auckland Sleeps 5+4 hop0018@slingshot.co.nz 09 812 8064

Ruapehu Lodge

Tautuku Forest Cabins

Whakapapa Village, Tongariro National Park Sleeps 32 office@forestandbird.org.nz 04 385 7374

Owaka, Otago Sleeps 16 tautukucabins@gmail.com 0273764120

Mangarākau Swamp Lodge North-west Nelson Sleeps 10 mangarakauswamp@gmail.com 03 524 8266 www.mangarakauswamp.com

Forest & Bird members can book all of these lodges at reasonable rates. Join today and feel good knowing you are making a difference for New Zealand’s nature. See www.forestandbird.org.nz/joinus.

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Tai Haruru Lodge

Near Pukenui, Northland Sleeps 6 herbit@xtra.co.nz 03 219 1337

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

Join our knowledgeable local guides on walking tours in the stunning Glacier Country region.

Learn about glaciology, flora & fauna, geomorphology, geology & history of this world renowned landscape. We cater for all ages & abilities, with 2 hr, half day & full day tours in our small groups, at your pace.

0800 925 586 www.glaciervalley.co.nz

New Zealand Birdsong Clock A different birdsong every hour

Ngunguru 20 Clemo Road Private oasis

3 bedroom house with sleepout and garage, designed

by Martyn Evans. Sprawled over 3.9ha of sheltered north facing bush with feature waterfalls and pond with breeding Pataki, Pigeons, Kingfisher, Tomtit, Tui, Fantails etc. Large shed with carport. On tidal river near Whangarei. Ten minutes to cities edge or coast.

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Advertise to Forest & Bird readers here and reach 80,000 people who are passionate about nature and the outdoors.

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Please contact Karen Condon PHONE 0275 420 338

EMAIL karen.condon@xtra.co.nz

...sleep 2 $100/night. Walking distance to beach, tramping tracks, golf course, wineries. Bookings contact Judy 0226808719 or email judy4creation@gmail.com.

Summer 2023

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LAST WORD Gum digger of Houhora, North Auckland, undated. Lantern slide held at Archives New Zealand

BIG FLOOD

GUM

Following the Auckland floods earlier this year, nine-year-old Peter Elliott followed in the footsteps of his great-grandfather and went searching for bush gold. Matt Elliott

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ain and wind at the beginning of the year had devastating effects on our natural and built environments.

Another result of the torrential rains was the appearance of a natural treasure – kauri gum from the magnificent trees that dominated the northern landscape for millions of years.

Māori, who used kauri gum for lighting, heating, chewing, in tattooing, and as a fumigant against the horned kūmara caterpillar, knew to look for gum after floods.

Following European settlement, when the gum industry was one of the main drivers of the wider Auckland economy, boys knew small amounts of money could be made from selling nuggets and chips found while combing waterways and beaches after heavy rain.

Polished kauri gum.

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Forest & Bird Te Reo o te Taiao

Not all finds were small. A century ago, newspapers reported the discovery in a stream bank of a 73lb (33kg) lump of kauri gum, after a flood near Tahuna, in the Waikato. It was estimated the piece could be sold for £9.

My interest in kauri gum came from when I was a boy, seeing large, dark polished chunks on the mantlepieces of my father’s uncles, who, with my grandfather, had a gum-washing operation at Red Hill, south-west of Dargaville.

The area was renowned for being the most productive in the north for buried gum. In 1922, my grandfather and his siblings sold over seven tonnes of washed gum to an Auckland broker.

In Birkdale, where I live on Auckland’s North Shore, the last of the licensed gumdiggers worked the hills in the 1930s. Small pieces of gum are occasionally found on local beaches, but the sudden, voluminous rains at the end of January meant the possibly of greater finds.

My nine-year-old son Peter and I searched an area at our local lagoon that had been inundated with flood water. Upstream, in the bush reserve that has regenerating kauri, several large slips had

occurred. It was also apparent that the floor of the lagoon, which had built up with silt from housing developments over the past 60 years, had been scoured out in parts.

The raging waters, which had run about four metres higher than normal, had thrown out kilogrammes of broken glass (removed), an array of bones (Auckland Museum identified these as being from cattle and sheep), as well as two stranded longfin tuna (eels), a kōura freshwater crayfish, and kākahi freshwater mussels.

Peter Elliott

To our delight, there were multiple pieces of encrusted bush gum, which is lighter in colour than the dark swamp gum. Flax bushes and piles of water-swept sticks and logs had acted as a natural sluice, allowing water to pass through but trapping pieces of gum.

In the weeks after the floods, when strong winds blew from the south-west, we ventured to a shallow mangrove area of the Birkdale Beach Haven peninsula. We found a number of pieces that had probably been washed from the land into the harbour, then pushed back up onto the coastline on wind-driven tides.

After washing and drying the gum, the largest weighing 260g, each gave off their familiar scent when rubbed. While there are always a few pieces of kauri gum for sale on the likes of TradeMe, we will be keeping our “big flood gum”. They are natural history souvenirs from an extraordinary weather event.

Matt Elliott is an award-winning writer of books for readers of all ages.

Parting shot

Jeremy Sanson

I photographed this pīpipi brown creeper in the Bealey Valley, Arthur’s Pass. We had spent the night surveying roroa great-spotted kiwi as part of the biannual kiwi listening survey led by Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust. In the morning, there was a flock of brown creepers all around our tents! But getting some good photos of them was still a challenge, as their defence against kārearea New Zealand falcons is to keep foliage between them and any perceived threat, such as camerawielding humans. It took me a good hour to get this clear image of the little pīpipi.

WILD ABOUT NATURE | PHOTO COMPETITION How to enter: Share your images of native birds, trees, flowers, insects, lizards, marine animals, or natural landscapes, and be in to win.

Send your high-res digital file and brief details about your photo to Caroline Wood at editor@forestandbird. org.nz. The best entry will be published in the next issue of Forest & Bird magazine.

The prize: The winner of this competition will win this fabulous limited edition Blunt Umbrella (RRP $149). Created as part of the Neo Tropica 2023 collection, BLUNT x FLOX is reminiscent of a luscious rainforest canopy. Two fruit doves nestle themselves amongst a refreshing palette of tropical flora and rich greenery.

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Adelaide Tarn Kahurangi National Park Photo: Mark Watson

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