It began in 1996, initiated by Lance Dew who was inspired after working with kiwi at Lake Waikaremoana.  Today the Trust continues working towards creating a thriving Brown Kiwi population on the Kuaotunu Peninsula, north of Whitianga on the the Coromandel Peninsula.

The Trust aims to improve the whole ecosystem of the Coromandel and uses kiwi populations to indicate its health.  That is, by doing things that benefit kiwi, Project Kiwi knows it is helping everything else within the ecosystem.

Project Kiwi has a seven-member trust.  Trustees represent local landowners and the farming community, and experts in kiwi and ecology.   Its part-time project manager is Sharon Macredie.  Project Kiwi also employs two contractors - a trapper, and someone to monitor the kiwi population. 

On top of its on-the-ground predator control work, the Trust hosts open days and visits by school groups, service clubs and other groups, records data from kiwi monitoring and trapping, liaises with technical advisers and sponsors, and applies for the all-important funding.

Besides meeting three times a year, Trust members also roll their sleeves up to help with fencing, call surveys, talking with local communities at Project Kiwi open days and any other jobs that come up. 

Size of Area under Protection

The Project Kiwi Trust oversees 5000 hectares of forest-covered hills, with 4100 under active management.

Some of this land is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), but most is in the hands of 22 private landowners who have committed to conserving kiwi by providing access for the Trust. 

Biggest Challenge

One of the steepest learning curves was finding out what it takes to run an organisation and managing a trust structure.  This is important to help make sure the Trust is seen to be professionally run and therefore able to attract sponsor funding.  For example, in 2001, Project Kiwi paid to have a professional strategic plan and management review carried out so that it could receive funding from the government’s five-year New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy funding package.

“There was a stage a few years ago when we were in overdraft.  It was messy,” Sharon says.  There is now good financial planning, including a contingency fund so that the Trust doesn’t go through the feast and famine cycles when the coffers are either full or empty.  Ongoing funding is still a challenge that requires continued effort.

Biggest Successes

Kiwi are still the main motivator and main highlight for Project Kiwi members.  “People know it is working, that we are helping the kiwi population,” Sharon says.  “When I take school kids out and they can see holes in the ground that the kiwi have made, they get so excited, they start looking and find more and more sign; it’s great.  My kids can find kiwi poo in a pile of fern.”

Project Kiwi’s success is built in large part on the support from some very good advisers, including DOC animal pest and kiwi experts.  Project Kiwi is also able to call on the expertise of Dr John McLennan, Tony Billing at the Westshore Wildlife Reserve in Napier, staff at Kiwi Encounter Rainbow Springs, in Rotorua, and many others.

Funding

The Project Kiwi Trust has enjoyed relative financial stability for a community project.  Along with sponsorship from The Warehouse, it received $500,000 over five years from the government’s New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy funding package.  Sharon says this provided a huge amount of stability for the group and enabled it to plan ahead, which was a real bonus.
 
The trust also receives regular funding from Bank of New Zealand Save the Kiwi Trust.

Other funding and sponsorship has allowed it to buy transmitters (Pub Charities) and possum control (Lotteries Commission).  Sharon says local communities do not want toxins spread through aerial operations, but accepted the use of contained bait stations in the war against possums.

The One Most Important Thing

If beginning over again, Sharon says Project Kiwi would set up its finances professionally right from the start, having things well defined and with long-term planning in place.  It would also form a trust from day one, rather than beginning as an incorporated society, because a trust structure provides greater stability and continuity. 

Further to that, Sharon recommends finding people with expertise, and asking for their help.  “It saves a great deal of time and frustration.”  She recommends DOC, other communities engaged in kiwi conservation and the Landcare Trust  “It’s not just about knowing where to put your traps, it’s also about how to get funding and tap into what’s available.”

“The most important thing though is the people who get behind the project and make it happen. The dedicated team who give their time, expertise and energy to make saving kiwi a reality.”
 
Contact Details

If you would like to volunteer to help the Project Kiwi Kuaotunu Whitianga Trust, or would like further information, contact Sharon Macredie at:
Email: projectkiwi@xtra.co.nz
Phone: 07 866 4880
Postal address: PO Box 274, Whitianga
Website: www.projectkiwi.co.nz (still under construction)