Kiwi Corridor

An ambitious goal to create the nation’s first large-scale kiwi-safe ‘ecological corridor’ – linking Northland brown kiwi populations over almost 300 kilometres of the region – is fast becoming a reality.

A newly-signed partnership between the Northland Regional Council and the Kiwi Coast Trust formally consolidates an existing strong working relationship between the pair.

Kiwi Coast is a community-led collaborative linking a variety of landcare and pest control projects stretching from Mangawhai in the south, to the Aupouri Peninsula in the Far North.

It links conservation projects, iwi and hapu, landowners, farmers, forest management companies, schools, and government agencies which share a desire to boost kiwi numbers to create a ground-breaking linked corridor of kiwi-safe areas.

Kiwi Coast Coordinator Ngaire Tyson says the partnership builds on more than 20 years of successful community-led kiwi recovery work and will help both parties with their mutual biodiversity and community goals.

She says to date, 96 entities have linked into Kiwi Coast, 73 of which are community-driven landcare groups. Collectively, these groups and projects are carrying out pest control over more than 130,000 hectares.

“Under the new partnership, Kiwi Coast will bring a cost-effective, community-driven model for connecting communities and enhancing Northland ecosystems,” Ms Tyson says.

Northland Regional Council Chairman Bill Shepherd says the council will in turn provide a number of resources to support Kiwi Coast.

“We already contribute roughly $300,000 a year through various funding streams to a number of community pest control projects within the Kiwi Coast area. Under the new agreement, we’ll now make an additional contribution of almost $90,000 annually to the trust itself over the next five years to help with the project’s coordination.”

Chairman Shepherd says Kiwi Coast has a truly impressive reach across a big swathe of the region, making it one of the largest community-led restoration projects of its type in the country. “Council is proud to be able to contribute to Kiwi Coast’s ongoing successes and everyone involved looks forward to a day – hopefully not too far away – when kiwi will be able to roam safely and freely across the Kiwi Coast.”

KIWI COAST: Kharma, a female Northland brown kiwi pictured with Northland Regional Council Biosecurity Specialist Pete Graham, Kiwi Coast Coordinator Ngaire Tyson, and Northland Regional Council Chairman Bill Shepherd.