Stories and research

Two people stand amongst long grass overlooking the ocean and headlands

Protecting the Wildside’s unique biodiversity

Marie Haley lives in her great grandmother’s house on the Banks Peninsula land that was first farmed by her French great-great-great grandfather.
Man in a canoe with a dog, kayak in backgroun

Fernbirds flourishing at Sinclair Wetlands

Glen Riley, coordinator at Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau, Sinclair Wetlands, 40km south of Dunedin, has been talking with some members of the Ornithological Society recently. According to the ornithologists, spotless crake were seen at the wetlands 30 years ago, but have been rare ever since.
A sign tells people "kiwi live here" and tells them "dogs by permission only please"

Kiwi comeback inspires new charitable trust

As far as anyone knew, kiwi were long gone from the Houto Forest near Dargaville, until a kiwi was found on farmland just 1km north of the forest.
A close-up of a peripatus

Adventure eco-tour company grows with forest

From the ziplines and swing bridges built high in the canopy of Rotorua’s Mamaku Forest there’s a phenomenal view of what a New Zealand forest looks like when it’s not full of possums and rats.
The Hawkins family on the farm

Survey competition winners carry on Grandpa’s conservation work

Otorohanga farming couple Jarrod and Danielle Hawkins said if it rained this summer, they could buy more kill traps for their QE II covenant block.
Woman in snow

Tough little duck has some hardy supporters

New Zealand’s whio or blue duck, likes nothing better than the turbulent white water of a fast-flowing mountain river.
Uruti children are Kiwi Kids

Uruti children are Kiwi Kids

In the remote, rural valley of Uruti in North Taranaki, the 16 children at local Uruti School are bursting with pride. They’ve just taken out an Environmental Action in Education Award and have a handsome trophy to prove it.
Gourmet Delights for Rodney Predators

Gourmet Delights for Rodney Predators

Bacon, peanut butter and blue vein cheese were all on the menu as the children at Kaipara Flats, Tomarata and Tauhoa Schools experimented to find out what baits worked best to entice predators into their traps.
Mind the Trap: Data Capture a Time-Saver on Great Barrier

Mind the Trap: Data Capture a Time-Saver on Great Barrier

Imagine this: you’re the new manager of Glenfern, a 260-hectare sanctuary on Great Barrier Island in Auckland.
Project Possum: it’s business time

Project Possum: it’s business time

When Kiwi kids are planning their future careers, there’s an option they may not have considered: working in the possum industry.
School kids take on the possums

School kids take on the possums

In February 2015, as part of a maths project, the students of Elsthorpe School set up some possum traps in the area to see what happened. The results may surprise you…
A close up of the face of the bat as it being held

A Different Kind of Dark Knight

Auckland Council biodiversity officer Ben Paris, aka NZ Batman, is on a mission; not to save Gotham by defeating criminal masterminds, but to….
A robin

Ratatouille: Birkenhead’s Urban Rat Blitz

Birkenhead sits on Auckland’s North Shore. Like many New Zealand neighbourhoods that border bushland reserves or waterways, there’s a bit of a rat problem.
Pestbusters: Bringing Back the Birdsong to Otatara

Pestbusters: Bringing Back the Birdsong to Otatara

Russell and his wife May set up Pestbusters in 2010 to help tackle the threat of predators to native birds, including tui, kererū, and bellbirds.
A way forward for community led conservation by Julian Fitter

A way forward for community led conservation by Julian Fitter

Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Society (MOWS) was started in 2009 to help look after the colony of New Zealand Dotterel on Maketu Spit.