The Kiwi Coast welcomed some special visitors to Whangarei Heads on November 11th when The Tindall Foundation, Reconnecting Northland and representatives of the Warawara Whakaora Ake project came to visit and enjoy a precious kiwi experience.
The Tindall Foundation and Reconnecting Northland Steering Group were invited to spend a couple of hours up close with two wild kiwi that were due to be released by Backyard Kiwi later in the evening. The kiwi were named ‘Mabel’ by Morris and Morris who are amongst the Proud Supporters of the Backyard Kiwi project and ‘Tindall’ in recognition of the support given to the Kiwi Coast through the funding of the Reconnecting Northland programme by the Tindall Foundation.
Both The Tindall Foundation and Reconnecting Northland Steering Group said they were “blown away” by the two kiwi. For many it was the first time that they had seen wild kiwi, especially up so close.
John McCarthy, Manager of The Tindall Foundation, expressed the Foundation’s thanks and admiration for the work of passionate local people and the Reconnecting Northland team who are making such a difference to reversing biodiversity decline. John said “It’s obvious that working together and connecting isolated groups to each other has been a key part of the success so far. The Foundation wishes everyone all the best with the future of this important work”.
Warawara Whakaora Ake is also a pilot project for Reconnecting Northland and reported on the success of a recent aerial 1080 operation to help restore the health of the Warawara forest.
Ngaire Tyson, Project Implementation for Reconnecting Northland and Coordinator for the Kiwi Coast said:
“It was such a special day. Bringing some of the amazing people involved in Reconnecting Northland together from so many different organisations, projects, groups, iwi/hapu, community groups and government departments to share such a precious experience was just remarkable. It was our way of saying thank-you and giving something back to those who have worked so hard to get where we are today.”
The Backyard Kiwi release later in the evening was the perfect ending to the day, providing an opportunity for those involved in the day’s events to join the crowd of 197 locals who had come to see the kiwi released at Taurikura.
The Kiwi Coast is the founding pilot project for Reconnecting Northland – a landscape scale connectivity programme that has been supported by the Tindall Foundation since it’s first inception. Reconnecting Northland is a collaboration between WWF-New Zealand and NZ Landcare Trust, and is also funded by Foundation North and the HSBC Water Programme.
For more information on the Kiwi Coast or Reconnecting Northland contact Ngaire Tyson.
