Kaharoa Kōkako Trust

Who are we?

The Kaharoa Kōkako Trust is a community-led conservation group working since 1997 to protect and grow a relict population of North Island kōkako in the Kaharoa Forest. With 30+ core volunteers contributing 6,000+ hours annually, we’re dedicated to securing a future where kōkako thrive once more in their natural forest habitat.

What Will Your Donations Go Towards?

We're currently fundraising for two ongoing projects:

1. Tracking Card Monitoring – $1,650 Needed Per Year

Effective pest control can only be confirmed with good monitoring. We run tracking tunnel surveys before and after our pest control operations. These surveys help us identify the level of pest activity, especially from rats, mice, and mustelids. The results from these surveys support us to make informed decisions and assess the success of our work.

Each year, we aim to complete 6 rounds of monitoring, and require 130 cards per round - a total of 780 cards annually. At approximately $2.10 per card (GST included), this adds up to around $1650 each year.

While we reuse any cards that remain in good condition, it’s still a costly but essential exercise. Monitoring before a pest control operation tells us how serious the problem is and helps us determine how much bait to use in our bait stations, while monitoring after shows us how effective the bait operation has been, and how quickly ship rat populations recover. Without this data, we’d be working blind.

2. Trap Network Expansion – 15 DOC 200 Double Sets - $3,000

We aim to strengthen our trap network by adding 15 DOC 200 Double sets, designed to target mustelids, especially stoats, a serious predation threat to kōkako nests. Double sets are effective because if one trap catches a pest animal, the other remains active and can actually become an even more effective trap, increasing capture chances. This makes them ideal for areas of the forest with persistent pest pressure. Expanding our network will boost our ability to protect eggs and chicks during the vulnerable breeding season.

Your donations will go directly toward these two high-impact projects. Whether it helps buy tracking cards or install a new trap set, your support plays a vital role in protecting one of Aotearoa’s most precious native birds and maintaining a healthy, balanced ecosystem in the Kaharoa forest.