Looking After The Land

New Zealand is such a diverse country and it's important that we protect the land and the animals that inhabit it, both now and for generations to come.

This is particularly important as a number of New Zealand's plants and animals are endemic, which means they are not found any where else in the world!

These include:

• Kakapo – The world's only flightless parrot
• Kiwi – Another amazing flightless bird
• Tuatara – A 'living fossil'
• Rimu – Large evergreen trees only found in NZ

Since people arrived in New Zealand, over 50 species have been made extinct through loss of habitat and introduced pests such as mice, rats, possums and stoats. Several hundred of the remaining species are threatened with extinction in the next 50 years.

However, all is not lost. There are many things that the Department of Conservation are doing to look after the land:

• Habitat protection
• Ongoing predator control programmes
• Moving species to safer locations
• Survey and research to improve our understanding of a species or its habitat, and the pests that threaten it

You can also help as many habitat restoration projects, such as native tree planting, rely on local communities and businesses for their success.

Native Tree Planting

Native Nature Tours currently have a tree initiative which invites our clients to plant a Kauri or Hinau seedling. We take a GPS reading of where you plant your seedling and record your name and the date of when it was planted.

This is all done using a traditional Māori ceremony and is a genuine Māori cultural experience. It also gives you a sense of environmental responsibility helping to counter the carbon emissions made during your holiday in New Zealand.

As the tree planting is recorded and held on our database, it gives an opportunity for the your descendants to return to New Zealand and to the Kaitoki Reserve to observe the now majestic tree which was planted by their parent, grandparent or ancestor. This in turn ties them to our land and to our reserve as kaitiaki (custodians) having played a pivotal role in local conservation.

As part of being a responsible eco cultural tour operator, Native Nature Tours donates $15 dollars to our local Marae for every tree planted.

We also run a Kiwi monitoring programme where our clients are invited to help us at our Kiwi listening posts. The information gathered is submitted to DOC for their records.

Our long term intent is to promote financial and environmental sustainability through the realms of a living Māori culture.

Currently our Kaitoki Trek has a tree planting initiative as part of the package as does our Kiwi Tour. We also have custom made treks and tours where we are able to include the tree planting initiative and kiwi monitoring programme.

For more information about native tree planting and our other conservation efforts, please contact us or visit the Native Nature Tours website.