Puketi Forest Trust  

Thirty volunteers from Puketi Forest Trust put an average of 70 hours a week into protecting one of the largest remaining tracts of native forest in Northland.

August 2011
The sub-tropical kauri habitat is home to some of the country’s most treasured native species, including New Zealand’s only fully parasitic flowering plant — the Dactylanthus.

It is also home to vulnerable and endangered animals such as the short and long-tailed bat, the Northland green gecko and the North Island brown kiwi.
To protect native wildlife and vegetation, the forest trust carries out regular stoat, rat, possum and feral cat trapping. North Island Robins, introduced in 2009 and 2010, have bred successfully for two seasons.

Monitoring indicates bird numbers in a range of species are up by more than 100% since the forest trust began in 2003.

With more than 100,000 people visiting annually, the area enjoys a high profile and high conservation values. This, coupled with the use of evidence-based best practice and high community support, brought the application into strong alignment with ASB Community Trust’s strategic objectives.

A grant of $79,799 is now helping the forest trust achieve its goals.