Update from our CEO Ana ChristmasSummer 2024
Nau mai, haere mai! A warm summer welcome to you all.
The warmer days have offered more opportunities to explore our beautiful country without the impact of mud being top of mind! Our family headed down to the central plateau where we enjoyed the stunning landscape of the Tongariro alpine crossing and surrounding areas. It was a chance to breathe in the clean air, plunge into the crisp alpine waterfalls and tread quietly through the forest as the bellbird/korimako sang.
The contrast with the sediment-heavy rivers of Te Awaroa (Helensville) was starkly evident and a reminder of the important role of protecting and enhancing our wetlands and waterways. Similarly, our experience with the fruit-laden kawakawa during our Forest Bridge Trust Christmas gathering at Mataia served as a poignant reminder of the positive impact of pest control on both flora and fauna, highlighting the inspirational efforts of our founders, Kevin & Gill Adshead and the wonderful community of people they have around them.
Our last quarter has seen our biggest number of hectares come under mustelid control – a whopping 5,006 hectares consisting of 478 new traps out in the landscape. This brings us to a total of 40,254 hectares, a giant step closer to our goal of 54,000 hectares by June 2025.
Our landscape-scale project is a huge undertaking and couldn’t have been achieved to this degree without the support of so many landowners, passionate conservationists, stakeholders and this driven team here at The Forest Bridge Trust. Our focus is to maintain these gains and build on this incredible foundation of the last 10 years, to grow our impact and sustainability for the benefit of increased biodiversity now but also for the decades and generations to come.
To help us crystallise the future impact we aspire to, we are partnering with the Ākina Foundation to explore the positive impact we can make and for whom, as well as prioritise our aspirations and opportunities for sustainability. We will look forward to sharing these outcomes over the coming months. In the meantime, there is much to celebrate in our Impact Report 2022-23 which details our activities and achievements over the last financial year. If you haven’t had a read yet – check it out here!
The past quarter has involved diving deeper into our Vision, Mission, Values and guiding principles of the Trust and what this looks like in practice with the team and our communities. The context has been wonderfully enriching for my understanding of our purpose and a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all those landowners who have hosted me on their projects/properties over the past few months. You are inspirational and your hard work is making a noticeable difference in biodiversity through our connected landscape.
In the February newsletter, you are invited to explore the remarkable work being carried out by Carol and Colin Beddow at the Mangatu Wilderness project, gain insights on wetland restoration from Pat McDonald, witness the ongoing community dedication at Takatu LandCare, and discover the magical GIS Mapping work undertaken by our expert, Pablo.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the passing of Kaumatua Haahi Walker, Ngāti Rango, Ngāti Whatua through this period, as a wonderful friend and supporter of the Trust, a guiding light for our community and a dear friend of founders, Kevin and Gill Adshead.
Whaea Rewana (daughter of Haahi and pouako (teacher) for TFBT) shared these words with us “Moe mai rā e te pāpā, moe mai rā, okioki ai. E te papa Haahi, moe mai rā koe ki te taho ō ngā ariki okioki ai.” (Sleep, father, rest. Father, may you sleep in the house of the Lord and rest with our ancestors.)
We are strong when we work together, with empathy, respect and integrity.
Ka ora te whenua, ka ora te tangata. When the land is well. we are well.
Tihei mauri ora!
Ana