Habitat Restoration

Recently established reserves were developed and implemented by the Trust. Situated on Kaikoura District Council and Environment Canterbury Regional Council (ECan) land, the Trust has authority to manage reserve sites.

The Trust’s focus is on facilitating wildlife care in a global biodiversity hotspot. Reserves have been years in the planning and took months to complete. Grants were enabled by ECan and WWF, with a significant portion self-funded by the Trust via sponsorships and donations. The Trust is indebted to committed volunteers and in-kind contributions.

Reserves focus on habitat restoration to facilitate wildlife corridors, as few suitable coastal sites with native vegetation remain. These sensitive sites consist of remnant coastal habitat which are post-earthquake uplift regeneration projects. The objective is to create urban safe zones to encourage threatened wildlife to return in predator controlled areas.

Signage advises that reserves are not visitor attractions or viewing destinations. It is crucial the community facilitates protection efforts of fragile reserve sites, vs recommending these as tourism destinations. Reserves will ultimately fail if any wildlife attempting to return or persist at sites, cannot be protected adequately from human encroachment. The Trust facilitates daily volunteer reserve patrols to enable public education and mitigate visitor disturbance.

Reserves were implemented to prevent dog predation on coastal wildlife, restore habitat and mitigate human disturbance. Dog control is a significant component of reserve management, and where signage stipulates requires dogs to be on leads at all times year-around. Animal Control officers will be present at reserve sites regularly regarding enforcement.

The Trust is proud to facilitate charitable conservation efforts in partnership with Councils, with the expectation that reserves are treated as community assets that are appreciated and respected. The goal is to showcase conservation in action to enable the community to protect, restore and enhance our natural environment, ensuring wildlife and people can thrive.