Back to Blog

We Won! Sustainable Futures 2025

The Sustainable Future Award recognises those who have implemented innovative projects or practices that protect and enhance the environment or who have embedded sustainability into the core of their operations. It celebrates forward-thinking initiatives that address climate challenges and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable future for all.We are so honoured to be this years winner. About the awardsThe Western Bay Community Awards bring together all those who are involved ...

In the media: Nuturing the ngahere

Luke Whareaorere, Otawa Waitaha a Hei project manager, gave up his Gold Coast construction career to come home and help restore the ngahere his tūpuna once traversed.“If our maunga and our awa are dying, our people are dying. The more we look after our ngahere, the healthier our people are," he says.Read the full story here....

Pānui 3 | Poutū-te-rangi, March 2025

Grab a kaputī and learn more about what’s been happening in the Kaimai Mamaku.This month:We won a Western Bay Community Award!Haere mai, our three new supporters  A new digital guided walk in Te Aroha is coming soonNgāti Hako are monitoring rakau rangatiraLouise Saunders, our CEO, is leading an upcoming Priority One eventAnd, a super sneak peak of the upcoming Our Place Magazine feature.Read the full pānui now....

In the media: $200,000 grant from Waikato Regional Council

We are thrilled to announce we have recently received $200,000 over two years from Waikato Regional Council towards our Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project!The funding will go towards:Labour – allowing our internal staff to support capacity and capability of Waikato iwi and hapū-led projects Health and safety supportData and monitoring platform support.Read the full article here. ...

Pānui 2 | Huitānguru, February 2025

Click here to subscribe now. --Grab a kaputī and learn more about what’s happening in the Kaimai Mamaku.This month:How climate change affects businessVoting is open for people’s choice awardsWhat feral browsers cost farmersForest health indicatorsWith teary eyes we farewell our project coordinator Dani Guy.But first, some great news - Kiwi in the Kaimai!Read the full pānui now. ...

In the media: The Devastating Impact of Deer

Our trustee, and Te Miro farmer, Stu Kneebone was recently interviewed in the Waikato Times about the devastation feral browsers (deers and goats) cause in our forests and neighbouring farm lands.Hoofed animals - including goats and deer - occur at 82% of sites on Doc-managed public conservation land, an increase from 63% in 2013.A Federation Farmers survey of its members showed feral animals are costing New Zealand farmers at least $213 million annually, including both pest control and lost pro...

Giving back to nature: the Rayonier Matariki Forests approach

Rayonier  Matariki Forests (RMF) grows and manages 120,000 hectares of forest across Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as investing in nature.Most recently, RMF invested in Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project's Wairere Mahi, to restore the mauri of a site sacred to Ngāti Hinerangi, Killarney Lakes, where RMF has a neighbouring pine forest.In this interview, Rob Schoonderwoerd Forest Manager – Bay of Plenty Region at RMF talks about the company’s land-based conservation mahi that they run alongs...

Pānui 1 | Kohitātea, January 2025

Ngā mihi nui for joining us in what we hope is another exciting year for conservation in the Kaimai Mamaku, Aotearoa and globally.Over the break, we loved seeing the roundup of conservation successes—Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust achieved 0.8% RTI post op for rats and released juvenile kiwi straight from the hatchery into the forest, Palmerston Island (Cook Islands) has been declared rat free and Tītipounamu spotted using nesting boxes in Aongatete Forest Project… just to name a few.It really h...

Best Moments of 2024

I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.For the first month of 2025, we want to spend some time reflecting on our top moments....

New year, new look

To kick start 2025, we introduce you to our refreshed visual identity! Our bold new look honours the original toi that was gifted to us, of which all elements hold mana and meaning....

Tīhema pānui | December newsletter

Ngā mihi nui for joining us in our third year of operations where we focused on strengthening our core—strong relationships, knowledge sharing and collaboration. We are most effective when we put the needs of the Kaimai Mamaku kaupapa first, value everyone engaged in the mission, and align our expectations of one another.Read our final pānui of the year to learn more about:DOC's self-led kauri ora training This generation of kaitiaki How you can help us increase our ...

In the media: Changing the conservation model

Our CEO Louise Saunders joined RNZ's Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan to discuss the Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project and the "broken" conservation model.Listen to the full interview here....

How are we doing?

Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust invites you to share your thoughts on how we're doing, what we're doing well, and what we can do to improve. ...

In the media: Iwi-led conservation projects seeking business investment

CEO Louise Saunders was interviewed on Breakfast, sharing the importance of business investment in iwi-led conservation. ...

In the media: This Generation of Kaitiaki

"They’re not happy,” says operations manager Whetu Apaapa (Ngāti Hinerangi, Raukawa, Tainui, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Terangi, Ngāti Pukenga), “let’s wrap it up”.They quickly finish re-baiting the rat trap and turn around, heading back to their base at Waitaia lodge.For a normal job, you might get a slap on the wrist for finishing early but for Whetu and his tīma (team), it’s encouraged as their intrinsic Mātauranga Māori (knowledge) and listening to the needs of the ngahere guide...

Noema pānui | November newsletter

Grab a kaputi and learn what's happening in the Kaimai MamakuWe're nominated for two Western Bay of Plenty Community AwardsTe Maire 2021 and Tapuika are featured in the new Western Bay Museum exhibition We ventured to Te Kaha to whanaungatanga with Raukumara Pae Maunga Restoration ProjectRead the full pānui here....

In the media: MKMT launches new model for conservation investment

Bay of Plenty businesses are being offered an opportunity to back local environmental projects with the launch of a pilot investment model aiming to fill gaps left by other conservation funding drying up.Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust chief executive Louise Saunders said its Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project’s new digital investment platform was designed to make it easier for local businesses to give back to the environment.Read the full story in the NZ Herald here. ...

Business investment extends restoration work in the Kaimai Mamaku

Initially, this partnership is focused on pest control and rākau (tree) planting in a 7-hectare area surrounding Killarney Lakes, which is a small portion of the 723.5-hectare block of Ngāti Hinerangi land leased by Rayonier Matariki Forests for pine forestry.Rayonier Matariki Forests Bay of Plenty Forest Manager, Rob Schoonderwoerd, says this partnership is about kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and whanaungatanga (connection).“It’s not just about getting rid of pests or growing more native t...

Pūrongo ā-Tau | Annual Report 2024

He honore he korōria ki te Atua, he maungarongo ki te whenua, he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa, E rere ana ngā mihi ki a Kingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero te Tuawhitu kua riro ki te pō. Okioki atu rā e Te Ariki i te rangimārie. He mihi ki tō tātou Kuini, a Nga Wai Hono i te Po ki runga i tōna ahurewa tapu. E ara e! Pai marire!We are pleased to present Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust’s Annual Report for the 2023/2024 financial year. We have had another productive year and continue...

Ōketopa pānui | October newsletter

Sit down, grab a kāputī and learn more about what's been happening in the Kaimai Mamaku.Ngāti Tumutumu are eradicating the creepers, crawlers, smotherers and stranglers from Te Aroha maungaTe Kapu Ō Waitaha have started their bird counts Te Maire 2021 have finished testing a dedicated mātauranga monitoring tool. Read the full newsletter now. ...

In the media: $25K lifeline for conservation project

A $25,000 lifeline has been thrown to a hapū-led conservation project near Rotorua which will help keep the pressure on pests and allow native species more time to recover while further funding is sought.Read the full story on SunLive....

Annual General Meeting

We appreciate your ongoing support of the Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust's vision and invite you to celebrate another fantastic year with us.This is an opportunity for us to reflect on, and celebrate, another great year of the Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project. We are also pleased to present two guest speakers, Paul Kavanagh from Southern Lakes Sanctuary and Roana Bennet talking about the Waihi Estuary Blue Carbon Project. THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER | 7 - 8PM | ZOOMRegistrations&...

Mahuru pānui | September newsletter

Sit down, grab a kāputī and learn more about what's been happening in the Kaimai Mamaku. What does it take to do a 700-ha bait operation?See the KMRP impact in numbersRSVP for our upcoming AGMAnd much more...  Rea the full pānui now....

In the media: 300,000 hectares, one ngahere

The Kaimai Mamaku forests and catchments cover almost 300,000 hectares across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato and are home to over 500 native species of plants, birds, frogs, bats and invertebrates – but large-scale canopy collapse is a very real threat.BayTrust is currently co-funding five iwi-hapū project teams, each of whom are undertaking pest and predator control in different areas within the forests. Over the past three years, $300,000 has been granted by BayTrust and a further $25,000 ha...

Ākuhata pānui | August newsletter

Grab a kaputī and learn about what's happening in the Kaimai Mamaku. We're taking early registrations of interest to invest in the Kaimai Mamaku Restoration ProjectRaponi Te Rangikātukua Wilson wants his tamariki to wake up to the rich melodies of kōkako ringing out across the bushLearnings from a Business Investment in Nature symposium Plus, results from the largest eDNA collection programme.Read the full pānui here....