Our Vision and Mission

October 2023

Our Vision

“Connected people and landscapes with healthy forest and flourishing indigenous wildlife from the Kaipara Harbour to the Pacific Coast”

Our Mission

We aim to inspire, support and resource people who own, occupy or manage land, to protect and enhance ecosystems and native species through fencing native forest, controlling invasive species, revegetating for connection and restoring waterways.

We will enable this work to grow to a landscape scale through our connection with local people, existing community conservation groups and networks which all have a critical role.

By inspiring and supporting a socio-ecological change movement we aim to encourage a voluntary and sustainable workforce committed to protecting and enhancing our surrounding ecosystems.

Our Principles

To create practical landowner-centred support systems and approaches that are inclusive and long lasting that protect and enhance a safe habitat for indigenous wildlife
To work collaboratively and to engage and inspire the community recognising the diversity within our rohe and building a sustainable programme of work that is built on their expectations and needs
To mobilise and inspire a wide range of partners from key organisations and departments to help access resources, support and enhance the sustainability of the vision of the trust and its community partners
To support and help mana whenua in their role as kaitiaki
To be value based; To be respectful, to have empathy and to work with integrity

Our Values

The Forest Bridge Trust is a value-based organisation built upon respect, empathy and integrity. These values provide a framework for how we operate as an organisation and how we work with others.

VALUES
Respect	We act with respect in all that we do We respect what makes people different, recognising and valuing the multiple and diverse perspectives of those we work with We respect the mana and tapu of individuals, and the communities we work with
Empathy	We will always listen to the point of view of others and try to reach a common ground where possible We continually try to understand the culture and environment of the communities we are working with to enhance our empathy
Integrity	We act with integrity, openness and honesty at all times

Collaboration and Engaging Our Community

The Forest Bridge Trust is a landscape scale initiative. This means working collaboratively at a scale which natural ecosystems tend to work best and where there is greatest opportunity to deliver real and lasting benefits – thinking BIG! Working in this way makes it possible to deliver greater environmental, and social benefits that are more difficult to achieve when focusing on smaller, individual sites. It also improves functional links between habitats so they are more resilient.

Working collaboratively and engaging with all members of the community underpins the work of the Trust. We recognise the diversity of the communities within our rohe and look to work with them based on their expectations and needs. To achieve this The Forest Bridge Trust has developed a place-based connectivity approach to engaging with landowners with the aim of inspiring, enabling and supporting people so they may become active stewards, guardians or kaitiaki of the area they live within.

Individuals are supported to take action. Individual action is connected to form hubs of action protecting strategically important areas. Halos of protection are created around hubs, which slowly expand outwards. Interconnected networks are created across the landscape.

The Forest Bridge Trust recognises the important work being done by the many groups and initiatives within the Forest Bridge rohe and the value to be gained from connecting and working with these groups and initiatives to achieve common goals. The Forest Bridge Trust also acknowledges that the vast number and diversity of group’s means there are many ways to work together.

Below is a diagram showing the types of relationships The Forest Bridge Trust will (and has) developed with other groups.

We are CO EXISTING

Know about each other but no regular communication

We are NETWORKING

Established rapport and relationship with each other
Informal discussions.
Information and data sharing

We are CO-OPERATING

Common interests identified
Come together on specific issues/projects
Some exchange of resources

We are COMMITTED to..

Mutual goals/outcomes
Interdependence on joint projects
Exchange of resources

We are COLLABORATING

Formal, documented relationship.
Invested relationship on defined goals
based on negotiated shared actions
co-dependency on joint projects
Committed to pool resources and practices on projects

We are PARTNERING

Interdependence to achieve results
shared goals & co-created plans
shared principles
commitment to mutual benefits
sustained relationship
collective decision making for improved outcomes on projects
defined protocols, processes and shared accountability

This does not include relationships we have statutory or legal authorities, such as mana whenua, agencies or funders

Volunteering for the Forest Bridge Trust

The Forest Bridge Trust is very keen to involve volunteers into its programme. In fact, volunteering is critical to what we do. Volunteers can be involved in a wide range of ways, and we actively encourage them to be involved not only in delivering our programme but also in developing our longer-term plans.

Our Philosophy towards volunteering is:

“Volunteering is at the heart of the community engagement work of the Trust. The Forest Bridge Trust volunteers bring unique talents, skills and knowledge to assist in the protection, enhancement and connection of forests, wetlands and other landscapes that help provide a safe habitat for our indigenous wildlife. In return we provide a unique experience that values the volunteer’s skills and contribution and recognises that without them, the Trust would not be able to achieve its goals”.