Some of the projects we are supporting need additional funds to complete all the work they are planning.
If you’d like to join us as a co-funding partner of a Predator Free project, we would welcome your involvement.
Contact us and we’ll put you in touch with the right people.
Pēwhairangi Whānui is the northernmost Predator Free 2050 Ltd project in Aotearoa and covers three peninsulas at the Bay of Islands, which totals 11,000ha of diverse landscape. Each project area is run independently by different community groups and hapū, with support from the Northland Regional Council and other project partners.
The peninsulas:
Purerua – A collaborative project involving Kiwi Coast Trust, Ngāti Rehia and Ngāti Torehina to remove stoats, possums and feral cats from the Purerua Peninsula to protect kiwi, pateke and other at-risk species.
Kororāreka/Russell – The Russell Landcare Trust aims to create an eco-sanctuary free of introduced mammalian predators, where indigenous biodiversity can thrive, and additional species reintroductions can occur.
Rakaumangamanga/Cape Brett – A collaborative community driven project led by the Te Rawhiti 3B2 Ahu Whenua Trust with the initial goal of eradicating possums from the Rakaumangamanga peninsula, and future aspirations for the removal of all other introduced mammalian pest including mustelids (Stoats, Weasels, Ferrets), Rats, feral pigs and feral cats, with the aim of returning the voices of our native taonga species back to our forests.
More funding is required to help each peninsular on their pathway to Predator Free success.
Predator Free Whangārei covers 20,000ha of whenua in the Whangarei motu with the goals of eradicating possums from the 9,000ha Whangārei heads peninsula, encourage and enabling backyard trappers and volunteers in the urban zone, and the suppression of mustelids and rats across the district.
There is already a strong local appetite to protect our taonga species, thanks to the decades of community conservation efforts and support, however, more funding is required to fulfil these goals, and expand the programme delivery around the motu.
Tū Mai Taonga is an exciting new conservation initiative on Aotea Great Barrier Island guided by the tikanga of Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea and supported through the Jobs for Nature – Mahi mō te Taiao programme, with backing from Predator Free 2050 Limited, Department of Conservation and Auckland Council.
It is creating an island-based conservation workforce that will trial new methodologies and tools to remove feral cats and rats at landscape scales.
Ecologically, the island has a head start because it is free from possums, mustelids and Norway rats, but ship rats, kiore and feral cats are having a devastating impact on its unique fauna.
Twenty years of carefully documented work in island sanctuaries and trapping by community groups has shown how hard and how important the job is. Indicator species such as kererū, tūī and kākā are now increasing but others like pāteke (brown teal), tākoketai (black petrels) and niho taniwha (chevron skink) among others remain vulnerable.
For Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea this is necessary work. “We must be involved. The priority is to have those birds, plants, reptiles and insects that should be here, back among us,” says Opo Ngawaka, Chair of the Project Steering Group.
If you’re interested in our mahi and learnings and want to help make Aotearoa’s sixth largest island predator free, we’d welcome discussions with major new funders.
Te Korowai o Waiheke is a charitable trust established by the local community to eradicate predators from Waiheke Island. The first stage of the Te Korowai o Waiheke project is a mustelid (stoats, weasels and ferrets) eradication island-wide, which has been widely successful so far. The second is a series of rat pilot operational trials to understand how to remove rats from the whole of Waiheke.
Additional funding is required for Waiheke’s ambitious programme to remove stoats and rats from the 21,500 ha island.
The vision of Predator Free Wellington is to create the world’s first predator free capital city where communities and native biodiversity thrive. The aim is to completely eradicate rats, possums, stoats and weasels from the entire Wellington Peninsula, a total area of 30,000 hectares in which around 212,000 people live. By eradicating these predators we are creating a haven for our native taonga to thrive in the city. This will allow us to not only help to turn the tide on biodiversity loss, but also give the city’s residents the chance to connect with native wildlife on a daily basis.
The first phase of the project is almost complete, with weasels and Norway rats having been eradicated from Miramar Peninsula, and only a last few pockets of ship rats remaining. The outcomes of the first phase of the project are already being seen, with a substantial increase in biodiversity on the peninsula. Independent monitoring has shown that native birds have increased by 33% on the peninsula, with new endangered species (such as kakariki, kaka and karearea now present on Miramar) and invertebrates such as native wētā have increased by 200% since the project started.
The ambitious community conservation project was dreamed up and is driven by locals. It is founded on the support of landowners, tangata whenua and community. While unprecedented in scale, the Capital Kiwi vision is also realistic. The team includes some of New Zealand’s most experienced kiwi conservation and pest control experts, who have successfully delivered growing populations of kiwi in other parts of the country.
Additional funding is required to create predator-free habitats and enable kiwi to return to the hills around Wellington.
Predator Free Dunedin Charitable Trust
Predator Free Dunedin is a conservation collective of more than 20 organisations working collaboratively to protect native biodiversity and strengthen communities.
Together, the members share a long-term vision to get rid of possums, rats and stoats from Dunedin’s urban and rural landscapes by 2050. The aim is to strengthen existing projects and link the areas between by supporting new predator control initiatives.
Additional funding is required to eradicate and suppress predators in landscapes around Otago Peninsula and the Orokonui Ecosanctuary.