Whakatāne Kiwi Trust

Whakatāne Kiwi Trust was established in 2006 as a charitable trust to promote and protect kiwi in the Whakatāne area. In 1999, eight North Island brown kiwi were unexpectedly discovered in the Ōhope Scenic Reserve. Without intervention, this unique kiwi population in the Whakatāne area would have been lost forever.

The Whakatāne Kiwi Project is a partnership between the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, the Department of Conservation, Te Runanga o Ngāti Awa, the Whakatāne District Council, landowners, and the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust.

Thanks to the dedication of this group and the many volunteers, the kiwi population in the Whakatāne area has increased from the original eight to over 350 birds. Kiwi can now be found in all three major reserves around town (Ōhope Scenic Reserve, Mokorua Scenic Reserve, and Kohi Point Scenic Reserve). Additionally, they have been successfully established on the pest-free Moutohorā (Whale Island) located just offshore from town.

Our goal is to promote the protection of kiwi and other indigenous species in the Whakatāne area through advocacy, education, and fundraising. We manage the delivery of the pest control program, and our volunteers actively take part in predator trapping, kiwi monitoring, education, dog aversion training, public events, and fundraising activities.

2023 - FOCUS ON STOAT BEHAVIOUR

Predator control in the area began in 2001 but recently stoats have become trapshy. This problem has appeared in other long-running projects like ours. Stoats are extremely clever and have learned to avoid our traps. This has meant we have seen an

increase in stoat-predation of kiwi chicks over the last few breeding seasons.

In 2023 the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust was successful in a funding bid from the Lottery Grants Board to instigate a three year project focused on addressing this issue. The first stage of this project was to commission environmental planning experts to conduct landscape analysis of our current predator control network. The report has given us guidance in trap and lure types, gaps in the current network, preferred trap locations and other recommendations to address the trap-shy stoat issue.

CAMERA MONITORING SYSTEM

We also set up a comprehensive camera monitoring system throughout our project area, which will give information about the abundance of stoats over time, providing us with a valuable tool to measure the effectiveness of our trapping overhaul. We would love to hear from other groups with this same issue and share ideas.

GET INVOLVED

There are many ways you can volunteer! Check out our website to see what events and volunteer roles are available, from pest control to guiding night walks. You may have the skills we need. Email us

Sponsor a trap

All our traps are regularly checked and re-baited, (usually once a fortnight), by our dedicated team of volunteer trappers. Head to our website to look at our trapping network map. You can choose your very own trap to sponsor!

Buy some gear 

Buy some gear

Look sharp in one of our cool tees, hoodies, or beanies. Head to our website to see what’s on offer.