Not just for the area's grand beauty, but also for the way its communities are joining forces to protect kiwi, remove weeds and restore its biodiversity.
There are a number of Landcare groups up and running on the Heads that have banded together as the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum. While some groups work on land-based issues, such as weed control and water quality, four are fully-focused on predator control to protect the Heads’ 100-strong kiwi population. The first group began in 1999, and the newest in 2006. Their combined aim is to create safe habitat for a sustained kiwi population which, while relatively stable, is only a fraction of the size it could be.
Their efforts are supported by Helen Moodie, local co-ordinator for the New Zealand Landcare Trust. This independent charitable trust has paid co-ordinators throughout the country providing support and encouragement to community groups.
Residents were motivated by the information put out by the Bank of New Zealand Save the Kiwi Trust, Helen says. It made them realise that hearing kiwi nearly every night from their homes was a privilege and not something they could take for granted. They wanted their grandchildren to be able to listen to kiwi from their back garden.
Local people are now involved in monitoring the kiwi population during the annual national kiwi listening survey, and predator control. Those unable to carry out predator control themselves, provide access onto their land for the trapper who helps with on-the-ground predator control work.
One of the things helping attract community support is that the Landcare Trust is not a conservation organisation – its role as an independent charitable trust is to promote sustainable land management, including protecting the biodiversity values on a farm. This creates opportunities with people who may have been reluctant to give some agencies and other groups access to their property, Helen says.
The work of the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum complements the Department of Conservation’s (DOC’s) Northland Kiwi Sanctuary which includes the Bream Head area. This is managed by DOC’s Whangarei Area Office. With the support of a strong community group, predators and possums have been controlled to low levels in the Bream Head Reserve at the end of the Whangarei Heads, and kiwi reintroduced.
The Forum has also developed relationships with a wide range of agencies, from those who provide expertise and practical know-how, such as the Department of Conservation and the Northland Regional Council, to those who provide funding.
Size of Area under Protection
The Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum protects 6000 hectares.
Biggest Challenges
Predator control is pivotal to future success of the programme. Most of the local predator control work is trapping for mustelids and cats, and some possum control.
However, stoats are notoriously wily and difficult animals to trap, so this work can be difficult and unrewarding. “It can be really hard to maintain enthusiasm and commitment over the long-term when you can’t expect to catch more than one stoat for every 400 trap nights,” Helen says. That is why the initial stoat trapping is largely left to the professional hunter employed using funding sourced by the forum’s predator control groups. The long-term challenge is to involve more locals in the trapping work, while still maintaining funding for input from a professional trapper.
The main concern from Helen’s point of view is how to sustain the communities’ efforts in the long-term - 50 years, 100 years, 500 years from now. As long as predators remain a threat to kiwi they will need to be trapped, and someone will have to do it.
A third issue is the ironic downside of success. As word spreads about the really positive outcomes communities can achieve, more groups want to get involved, and more and more local projects begin. These all end up competing for the same pool of funding and, if this is limited, some groups will be disappointed. In Northland alone, the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum Predator Control Group is one of just 19 kiwi projects that have begun since 1999.
Biggest Successes
A big success is the local community’s increased appreciation and involvement with the project. Advocacy of the kiwi’s plight has helped turn around people’s natural suspicion of outside interference, and more and more are willing to provide the project with access to their private land and get involved. More people are also getting the message to keep their dogs under control - as they begin to appreciate how very close to houses some of the kiwi live.
The partnership between the community and DOC is not only very important, it is also very successful. The technical knowledge and on-ground support of DOC’s professional trappers has been vital to the success of the project.
Ever-lower catch rates for stoats suggests that only very low numbers remain, which means the trapping regime must be successful. Most stoats being caught are re-invading the peninsula from neighbouring land.
Funding
Creating the forum to bring together the various groups operating on the Whangarei Heads has taken a ground swell of community interest and involvement and turned that energy into more structured projects that can secure resources, Helen says. When approached by the groups, her first step was to develop a resource document that identified the Heads’ biodiversity values, the threats to those values, current management efforts and potential objectives for restoration (including kiwi recovery). From this, a workplan was prepared and funding sought to put it into practice.
For Helen, chasing funding is a big part of the job. First, submitting application proposals, then providing the reports needed to show how the money is being spent.
Funding for the Forum’s work has come from the WWF - New Zealand Habitat Protection Fund, Northland Regional Council, Transpower Landcare Trust Grant scheme and central government's Biodiversity Condition Fund. Bank of New Zealand Save the Kiwi funds the forum’s professional trapper, Todd Hamilton, and Helen says an ongoing relationship is developing, especially around Operation Nest Egg programme.
The Most Important Things
Because the majority of kiwi at the Whangarei Heads are on private land, the most important thing has been to develop a good, long term relationship with landowners in the area – because they manage the land, only they can truly ensure that kiwi remain in the area in the long term. Time spent meeting with people, getting to know them and earning their trust and involvement is crucial.
Find out what others are doing in your area. Contact the Landcare Trust (0508 Landcare). Talk with your neighbours and see if you can get something going. It’s hard to do it all on your own. Getting involved with the Landcare Trust can also help your group to become sustainable over time – it provides a foundation stone when people move on and new comers have to fill the gaps, a common problem for private communities shouldering long-term projects.
Be strategic – spend some time making sure that what you are proposing is the most appropriate thing for your area. If possible, in the early stages prepare a resource document to determine the feasibility and focus of the project – it will help with getting funding and support. For initial seeding funding, try your local regional council’s environment fund.
Much time can be saved by asking existing kiwi groups what they have learned about predator control.
Developing personal relationships with DOC staff who support community-driven initiatives is important. And it is important to make sure that the relationship with DOC is a true partnership. “To be successful, projects like the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum need to be driven by the private landowners. DOC has a lot of knowledge and resources and a big role in a project, but it has to be a genuine partnership. If you are setting up a project, persist until you find someone committed to supporting community-driven projects,” Helen says.
Contact Details
If you would like to volunteer to help the Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum, contact its co-ordinator, Helen Moodie of the NZ Landcare Trust, at:
Email: helen.moodie@landcare.org.nz
Phone: 09 435 3863
Postal address: P O Box 4327, Kamo, Whangarei
Website: www.landcare.org.nz
Or contact Wendy Sporle at:
Email: kiwendi@xtra.co.nz
Phone: 09 408 4241
Postal address: RD 1, Kaitaia
For the latest news from the north about the people, groups and agencies who are trying to help kiwi, download the Northland Kiwi Newsletter from our Community News page.