Waikato Regional Council has granted $1.63 million to five community groups working on landscape scale predator control projects.

At the inaugural meeting of the Community Restoration Committee today, councillors approved Natural Heritage Fund grants to:

• A Rocha Aotearoa’s Karioi Project ($464,756 over four years)
• Moehau Environment Group’s field operations for landscape predator control ($400,000 over four years)
• Whenuakiwi Trust’s Whenuakite Kiwi Care Project ($248,707 over four years)
• Te Ara Hou Kennedy Bay Ltd’s Pukewharariki Ngahere and Wai Landscape Restoration Project ($390,038 over four years)
• Mokaihaha Kōkako Trust’s Mokaihaha Kōkako Project ($135,031 over two years).

In total, the projects will provide pest control for 25,000 hectares – 1 per cent of the Waikato’s total land area, including some of the region’s most ecologically significant areas – to achieve greater biodiversity gains and therefore contribute to overall community wellbeing.

All the projects are collaborations between many parties, including landowners, Māori, the Department of Conservation, communities, councils and local businesses, and all include volunteer labour ranging from 300 to 6000 hours per year. This funding will create at least six fulltime jobs a year for four years to help support economic recovery in the Waikato.

Committee chair Fred Lichtwark said the funding would allow of a lot of mahi to be done into the future by the groups.

“I can see the heart and soul that all these groups put into their projects, and you just can’t put a financial value on the time and effort that goes into what they do. Someone has to do this work, and a lot of it is done by volunteers because there is just not the funds available or it’s not deemed as paid work, but the biodiversity gains we all get out of this is just outstanding.”

The Natural Heritage Fund was set up to help with the council’s commitment to preserving the natural heritage of the region, e.g. its native plants and animals, threatened ecosystems, outstanding landscapes and the natural character of waterways and the coast.

The fund is built up by a targeted rate of $5.80 (less the price of a cup of coffee) per property in the region, with unallocated funding carried over to the following financial year. The balance for the year ending 30 June 2020 was $1,029,000.

Karioi Project $464,756

A Rocha has been actively working for 15 years to re-establish Mt Karioi in Raglan as a seabird mountain. However, the community-led integrated pest control programme on 15000ha of private landowner and public conservation land helps protect not just the grey-faced petrel (ōi) but all native species. There have been more frequent sightings of kākā on the mountain, and little blue penguins are also attempting to breed. The project has more than 100 active volunteers. This funding will contribute to staffing costs, infrastructure costs to expand the trapping and bait station networks on Mt Karioi, coordination of seabird monitoring and the backyard trapping programme in Raglan/Whāingaroa.

Karioi Project leader Kristel van Houte said having four years of funding was invaluable to the project. “It enables us to really plan, expand and implement not just one year ahead but for four years. Having that certainty enables us to connect people to nature and protect biodiversity at a landscape scale.”

Moehau landscape predator control $400,000

Moehau Environment Group (MEG) has undertaken community-driven, large-scale pest control and biodiversity management projects in the northern Coromandel for over 15 years, on about 15,000ha of private landowner and public conservation land. MEG has about 50 active volunteers. This funding will help pay for staff on the ground, 3200ha of possum control, 11,950ha of mustelid control (trapping), the Port Charles’ Rat Attack programme and Waikawau Wetland rodent and cat control.

Chair Lettecia Williams said MEG’s projects were long term and “we can’t walk away from them”. “This funding will enable us to sustain our long-term environmental gains and operations … protecting more biodiversity for longer.”

Whenuakite Kiwi Care Project $248,707

Whenuakiwi Trust has been protecting Coromandel brown kiwi on 3554ha of private and public conservation land in the Whenuakite area, between Hot Water Beach and Tairua, since 2000. The area is a stronghold for kiwi (about 133 pairs) and has large populations of kēreru (flocks of over 100 birds) and kākā, and bittern and pateke. The project has about 30 active volunteers. This funding will help cover the operation manager’s wages and some material costs, such as replacement traps, bait and office equipment.

Whenuakiwi Trust fundraiser and trapper Janice Hinds said “this is our forever project”. “We love what we are doing. This money will sustain us for four years and keep our kiwi safe.”

Pukewharariki Ngahere and Wai Landscape Restoration Project $390,038

Te Ara Hou Kennedy Bay Ltd, the environmental arm of Te Ahi Kaa (Ngāti Porou’s Hauraki training and social service unit), was established in 2019. Its new mountain to the sea project is on 1179ha of Maori, private landowner and public conservation land. The aim is to create environmental, cultural and social change in people for the health and wellbeing of future generations by using te ao Māori, mātauranga, manaakitanga, whakawhanaungatanga, western science and conservation strategies. This funding will pay for two manager positions (pest control coordination and a matauranga Māori unit), administration, staff training, traps, bait stations, bait and contractor time and willow control.

Te Ara Hou Kennedy Bay Ltd manager Nicholas Hamon said Kennedy Bay was once a wealthy community but had become depressed. The funding would help the community to step up and look after their own environment and get back their cultural identity. “We have some of the best history around, and by training and upskilling our people we can turn our scenery into mātauranga Māori and create tourism opportunities. It’s a true kaitiaki vision.”

Mokaihaha Kōkako Project $135,031

The Mokaihaha Kōkako Trust, formally established in 2017, protects a large and resilient kōkako population in the Mokaihaha Ecologial Area, 2136ha of public conservation land between Tokoroa and Rotorua. The group currently maintains 840 bait stations in the West Block. This funding will help cover the costs of a contractor and materials to put in baitlines (1300 bait stations) across the remaining 1286ha, the installation of 267 stoat traps across the whole area and for skills to be developed by volunteers to safely carry out the pest control.

Project coordinator Katherine Hay said a lot of the ecological area wasn’t currently being trapped or baited, and kōkako breeding pairs had now moved into those uncontrolled areas which were rough terrain and a health and safety concern. “We think if we can get in there then we can really boost the numbers of kōkako. It’s not an easy mountain to access, there are many streams and steep drop-offs.”

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