Landscape-scale conservation projects are an important part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity future.

They connect the many localised community efforts, passionate landowners and patches of remnant forest to achieve much wider-reaching conservation outcomes.

The Forest Bridge Trust is restoring 54,000HA of land in the Rodney area and uniting a community as they restore biodiversity to their region. In this episode, we chat with Operations Manager, Matu Booth about the awesome work they're doing.

People usually think of hunting & gathering as something completely separate from conservation. But when the forest is your food basket, you see places and species that others don’t notice. 

Through hunting and trapping, Sam (Hamiora) Gibson, also known as Sam The Trap Man, discovered that the whio (native blue duck) and kiwi that were not so long ago abundant in the Waioeka Gorge where he grew up, had almost disappeared.

This evolved into the Eastern Whio Link project. What started as just 4 whio pairs in the Waioeka Gorge multiplied into 100+ chicks hatched in just a few short years...

Imagine seeing an extremely rare bird (kōkako) go from declining without any support to having an entire community of volunteers, farmers, iwi, forestry, council, and NGOs unite to bring it back…

Imagine giving countless volunteer hours over 30+ years to restore habitat for the kōkako population in Kaharoa Forest and experiencing the changes over that time.

In this episode, we are joined by Carmel Richardson and Graeme Young, who have played a pivotal role in establishing, growing and leading the Kaharoa Kōkako Trust and now work with KEEP (kōkako ecosystem expansion project) to connect the Kahaoa Forest with other kōkako habitats in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

Why do we post-mortem and study wildlife after it dies?

How does pathology influence our understanding of biodiversity trends at a species level?

And what risks does the potential arrival of avian influenza pose to Aotearoa New Zealand’s birds?

In this episode, we are joined by Annie Pagé, wildlife pathologist resident at Massey University, subantarctic sea lion researcher, and ⁠Heritage Expeditions⁠ tour guide.

What does a healthy ecosystem actually look like in Aotearoa New Zealand?

And what role does the endangered kōkako bird (Callaeas wilsoni) play in the conservation landscape?

In this episode, we are joined by Wayne O’Keefe, who wears many hats in the conservation space, including ongoing efforts to help develop intergenerational forest corridors through KEEP, the Kōkako Ecosystem Expansion Programme.