2020 was memorable for all the wrong reasons for many people. But while COVID-19 caused mayhem in the local economy, it created many opportunities for kiwi conservation.
The Jobs for Nature programme is investing more than $1.219 billion in jobs for 11,000 people that will restore Aotearoa’s rivers, protect precious places, and ensure our native wildlife thrives.

The Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai is responsible for allocating $488 million to partners and projects that will create nature-based job opportunities for approximately 4,800 people over five years.

In 2020, Save the Kiwi was announced as a recipient of $19.7 million Jobs for Nature funding. Between 2020 and 2025, our goal is to use this funding to create more than 100 full-time equivalents (FTEs) and 110,000 hectares of kiwi-safe habitat.

This is how we’re tracking so far (updated quarterly; last updated September 2023):

paid in Jobs for Nature funding

people currently employed

full-time equivalents (FTEs)

hours of paid employment

hectares protected

Jobs for Nature projects

Save the Kiwi is funding 11 projects through the Jobs for Nature programme, from the Bay of Islands in sunny Northland to the West Coast of the South Island.

 

The Forest Bridge Trust

The Forest Bridge Trust, Kaipara

The Forest Bridge Trust is working with local communities and landowners to create a 54,000-hectare ‘central bridge’ that connects existing wildlife sanctuaries at Mataia Restoration Project on the Kaipara Harbour and Tāwharanui Regional Park in the east.

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National Kiwi Predator Control Advisor

Save the Kiwi National Predator Control Advisor, National

John Bissell from Backblocks Environmental Management has joined the Save the Kiwi whānau as the National Predator Control Advisor. Much of his role is to advise all Jobs for Nature projects and ensure each carries out best-practice predator management procedures.

Honeymoon Valley

Honeymoon Valley Landcare Trust, Mangamuka

The Honeymoon Valley Landcare trust is working with iwi and neighbouring landcare groups to extend its 1800-hectare predator-controlled area to create a kiwi corridor of some 7000 hectares. Over four years, an extensive trap network will be developed by up to 20 locals who will be trained in all aspects of pest control.

Kiwi I Te Kāinga, Coromandel

Kiwi at Home | Kiwi I Te Kāinga, Coromandel

Six Coromandel kiwi care groups, iwi, and agencies have joined forces to create Kiwi at Home | Kiwi I Te Kāinga, an ambitious project to improve, connect, and expand – at an accelerated rate – the safe spaces where kiwi thrive on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Maungataniwha/Pohokura Kiwi Enhancement Project

Maungataniwha/Pohokura Kiwi Enhancement Project, Hawkes Bay

Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust has released over 380 kiwi back into the Maungataniwha Forest since 2006. The Maungataniwha/Pohokura Kiwi Enhancement Project looks to enhance these results by protecting the kiwi now being released into nearby Pohokura and by making kiwi available for other fledgling kiwi projects.

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Te Kōhanga Āhuru, Taranaki

Te Kōhanga Āhuru, Taranaki

Three Taranaki iwi (Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, and Ngāti Maru) have joined forces to create a project called Te Kōhanga Āhuru. Together they will work to ensure their rohe are safe for kiwi and create sustainable employment for the wider whānau and hapū.

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Experience Purangi

East Taranaki Environment Collective, Taranaki

East Taranaki Environment Collective (formerly Experience Pūrangi) is a community conservation project in Taranaki that will expand their current work beyond the boundaries of their pest control area into the adjoining forest.

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Kiwi training programme, Taranaki

Kiwi training programme, Taranaki

To support both Te Kōhanga Āhuru and East Taranaki Environment Collective, a kiwi monitoring and handling training program with a particular focus on mana whenua has been established, to train and upskill local people in practical kiwi conservation skills.

Capital Kiwi Responsible Dog Ownership Programme, Wellington

Capital Kiwi Responsible Dog Ownership Programme, Wellington

Capital Kiwi are looking to return rowi to the Wellington region in late 2021. Because these kiwi will be moving into an area where there are lots of urban dogs, Capital Kiwi is developing a programme to teach local dog owners how their furry friends can co-exist with kiwi in their backyard.

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Paparoa Wildlife Trust, West Coast

Paparoa Wildlife Trust, West Coast

The Paparoa Wildlife Trust on the West Coast of the South Island has a network of over 1500 traps across 8000 hectares which target stoats, rats, and weasels to provide protection for their local roroa/Great Spotted Kiwi population as well as many other native birds and animals.

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Pest-Free Purerua, Bay of Islands

Pest-Free Purerua, Bay of Islands

The Purerua Peninsula in Northland has a prolific kiwi population, possibly one of the densest in New Zealand. Pest-Free Purerua is working to completely eradicate all predators from the peninsula to safe-guard current and future populations.

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Jobs for Nature news

 

Ferret 101

Ferret 101

 A young disperser caught in a basic cage trap set. Kia ora team, at Christmas we talked about it...

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Kiwi advocacy

Advocacy

We’re all in this together. Save the Kiwi works to raise awareness about the plight of the kiwi and what is being done to help via social media, regular newsletters, and media publicity. (Photo credit: Jenny Feaver)

Predator Control - Ferret

Predator control

Stoats, ferrets, rats, dogs, and other predators are the greatest risk to the kiwi population. Find out more about predators, the harm they cause to our native taonga, and what we can do to help.

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Kiwi avoidance dog training

Kiwi avoidance training

Dogs are a significant issue when it comes to kiwi conservation. Learn about a method that can successfully teach dogs how to avoid kiwi when they come across them in the wild.

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Kiwi egg handling

Operation Nest Egg

Operation Nest Egg is a national kiwi breeding programme which grows kiwi numbers much faster than they could in the wild. Find out more about what and who is involved. (Photo credit: Jenny Feaver)

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Kohanga Kiwi

Kōhanga Kiwi

Kōhanga Kiwi is a ground-breaking strategy that both preserves current numbers of kiwi and increases them. Learn about this world-leading conservation initiative.

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Crombie Lockwood Kiwi Burrow

Gallagher Kiwi Burrow

The Gallagher Kiwi Burrow (formerly known as the Crombie Lockwood Kiwi Burrow) is Save the Kiwi’s kiwi incubation, hatching, and brooding facility. Learn about the facility and the chicks that temporarily call this facility home.

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Raukumara

Whānau, hapū, iwi & kiwi

Kaitiakitanga is integral to the spiritual, cultural, and social life of tangata whenua. Find out how Save the Kiwi is committed to supporting Māori leadership in kiwi and wider efforts to restore the health of the whenua. 

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Jobs for Nature

Jobs for Nature

In 2020, Save the Kiwi was awarded Jobs for Nature funding which was redistributed to various kiwi conservation projects. Find out about these projects and the environmental gains they’re seeing. (Photo credit: Jenny Feaver)

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Kiwi research

Research

An enormous amount of research about the kiwi population has been undertaken over the years. Learn about the research behind Save the Kiwi’s vision.

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