Above:  Four month old kiwi Huatahi - the first kiwi chick to be hatched on the mountain in over a century. Below:  June 2006 - two takahe are released onto the wetland.

The Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust is a community driven organisation established to restore the biodiversity of some 3,400 hectares of indigenous forest on Maungatautari.  When forming, the Trust established a vision – to remove, forever, introduced mammalian pests and predators from Maungatautari and restore to the forest a healthy diversity of indigenous plants and animals not seen in our lifetime.

This is a fairly lofty goal – but with one step being taken at a time, it’s a dream that is starting to become a reality.

We at TrustPower first heard of the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust in 2004, when the Trust won the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Waipa District Community Awards.  At that stage the Trust had just completed the first step in achieving its goal.  It had raised more than $4 million and had built pest-proof fences around the northern and southern enclosures on the mountain. 

The Trust then took its project to represent the district at the TrustPower National Community Awards in March 2005, during which the Trust’s dedication and achievements to date wowed the judges.

Trust Chief Executive Jim Mylchreest says it was an absolute thrill to win the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Waipa District Community Awards.

“We had really only just started the restoration of Maungatautari and yet already we had captured the imagination of the judges and all the publicity which that brings,” says Jim.

Since its success in the TrustPower Community Awards the Trust’s list of achievements has grown longer and longer.

In July 2005 kiwi were returned to Maungatautari after an estimated 100 year absence.  Jim Mylchreest described the introduction of the two male and two female North Island brown kiwi juveniles, which were released into the northern enclosure, as a turning point in the preservation of New Zealand’s indigenous threatened species.

Just four months later, in November 2005, four more kiwi were released into Maungatautari’s southern enclosure.

The mission of reintroducing threatened species to the Maungatautari forest did not stop there.  In February 2006 the Trust completed the job of fencing the Tautari Wetland into a separate enclosure, complete with tracks.  This mini enclosure, on the southern side of the mountain, was seen as the perfect spot for the introduction of takahe, tuatara and brown teal and in June 2006 two takahe were released into the wetland.

Jim Mylchreest says as with everything the Trust has achieved, volunteer work and donations made it all possible.  The three hectare valley close to the enclosure was gifted to the Trust by Taotao and Carol Tauroa, the Xcluder Pest-proof Fencing Company donated their staff time to build the fence around the wetland, a local farmer spent more than two weeks at the site doing heavy digger work and many other volunteers, trustees and supporters assisted in creating the tracks, grassing the banks, weeding, spraying and planting.

At 10 am on 31 August 2006 the final four metre section of the 40 km perimeter pest-proof fence around the forest edge of the mountain was completed, making it the longest pest-proof fence every built in New Zealand.

More than 850,000 staples, 50,000 battens, 8,500 three metre posts, 240 km of high tensile wire, over 50,000 stainless steel rivets, 280,000 screws and nearly 100,000 m² of the all-important fine stainless steel mesh were used in the total construction.

The completion of the fence resulted in even more indigenous species returning to the mountain.

In April 2007 kokopu (endangered whitebait or native trout) were returned to Maungatautari after a 60 year absence, in the world’s first release of banded kokopu back to the wild.  This achievement was described by Jim Mylchreest as “an important link in recreating, as close as possible, the ecosystem that once existed on Maungatautari.”

Just two months later two kaka were released into a purpose-built aviary in the southern enclosure and a wild kaka was seen several times in the vicinity.  In July 2007 research found that native beetle numbers had increased by 300% in the two years since the area was enclosed and completely cleared of pests.

It is hard to comprehend how all these achievements have been driven by a not-for-profit, community based organisation and would not have been possible without the millions of hours of volunteer work.

But the best news is yet to come!

In December 2007 the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust’s first kiwi chick, named Huatahi, hatches – the first time a kiwi chick has hatched on the mountain in over a century. 

“When the kiwi was born we were absolutely over the moon,” says Jim Mylchreest.  “This was what we had been working towards for the past five years.  There had been a huge amount of work in that time, from the Trust, our hundreds of volunteers, local iwi who have given us great backing, and land-owners around the mountain.

“Now we can begin to show the world that such large-scale projects for conservation can work, and that they are worth taking on,” says Jim.

The Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust’s primary source of funding is through fundraising to charitable organisations, trusts, corporates and government agencies.  Visitor charges and memberships also make up a portion of the Trust’s funding, with the Trust boasting 1,800 financial members.

Jim Mylchreest says the Trust’s current focus is ensuring that they eradicate all the pests from the main mountain.

“With 11 of the 15 local pest species eliminated we are closing in the last rabbits, goats, hares and mice.  Achieving our dream is tantalisingly close.  We are on the verge of reintroducing a range of wildlife which will see Maungatautari as the most important breeding site for some our most endangered wildlife including North Island saddleback, kokako, and hihi (stitchbird).  It is an especially exciting time!”

For more information about the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust please go to www.maungatrust.org or contact the Trust on 07 823 7455.