The Kererū Discovery Project is entering a new phase and has received new funding from the Nikau Foundation with the generous support of the Willscott Endowment Fund, and WWF-New Zealand supported by the Tindall Foundation.

 

"In the Year of the Forests, WWF is getting behind this project because kererū are the champions of New Zealand forest recovery, they're a keystone species and need looking after," says WWF's Marc Slade.


The organisations are investing a total of $10,000 in the Kererū Discovery Project to kick-start a new phase of the conservation project, which will span the whole of the Wellington Region and aims to increase populations of kererū from Kāpiti Island through to the Wairarapa, and down to Wellington City. Increasing numbers of kererū will play a critical role in restoring native forest in the region. Today kererū numbers are a tiny fraction of what they once were as a result of habitat loss and an associated lack of food, and introduced predators such as possums, ferrets and stoats.

 

The new phase will involve local communities in helping kererū to thrive, calling on people to plant native plants which are food sources for the birds in their backyards, and to volunteer for restoration and pest control schemes. "One of the longer term tactics we hope to use is establishing 'green corridors' (Green corridors in conservation terms mean an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities) from places where the birds thrive, such as Kāpiti, through to the Wairarapa," commented WWF's Marc Slade.

 

In the UN International Year of Forests 2011, a number of new partners are coming together to boost the conservation efforts of the Kererū Discovery Project, including WWF-New Zealand, Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council supported by a
number of other city and district councils. Original partners Te Papa, ZEALANDIA, Victoria University of Wellington and the Department of Conservation are continuing to support the project.


"As a charitable trust that manages donors’ money so that their one gift will give in perpetuity, the focus of Nikau Foundation is the Wellington region. We are delighted to be able to contribute, on behalf of our donor the Willscott Fund, to the recovery of kererū numbers and the ongoing restoration of native forests in our region," said Adrienne Bushell, Nikau Foundation Marketing Manager.


Wellingtonians can do their share today to make kererū a common sight in the Wellington region's open spaces, reserves and skies, and ensure Wellington's forests are restored to their former health, by:

  • Planting native plants in their backyards to provide food for kereru including kowhai, titoki, pigeonwood, ngaio, karamu or five-finger
  • Controlling pests on their land by trapping rats, stoats and weasels or by allowing the council to set bait stations or traps to control possums
  • Getting involved in community groups restoring native habitat.
  • Contact your local council for information on groups in your area or contact NZ Trust for Conservation Volunteers at http://
  • www.conservationvolunteers.org.nz/ or Conservation Volunteers New Zealand http://www.conservationvolunteers.co.nz/
  • Controlling domestic cats by fitting a bell to their collar and bringing them in at night
  • Monitoring the seasonal behaviour of kererū in backyards



For more on the work of WWF contact: Marc Slade, Terrestrial Conservation Programme Manager, 04 815 8521 or mslade@wwf.org.nz