Purangi Kiwi Project

From its beginning as an idea promoted by dairy farmer Karen Schumacher, the Purangi Kiwi Project is now in full swing, with bat research by local school children, new tracks being built for visitors to the area, and a new office base set up in Inglewood.

The project at Purangi in East Taranaki covers 13,000 hectares and is home to over 500 pair of western brown kiwi, says Karen. “Our ongoing predator control allows the population to continue to increase. If predators are not controlled, 95% of kiwi chicks hatched could be killed. And as older kiwi die off, the population will decline, risking the loss of our iconic taonga.”

“This is a success story, turning a declining population into one which is growing and is a national stronghold for the future of the North Island Western Brown Kiwi. We are unashamedly parochial, as a community we feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for our kiwi and are proud to be called a kiwi.”

Karen sys, “we need to continue to protect and enhance our terrestrial environment for the long term survival of our kiwi. They are the indicator species for our other native species. Our vision is 1,000 pair by 2020. We plan to re-introduce Kokako to flourish beside our kiwi population.”

“We want our wider community to see our kiwi, to be part of the kiwi story. Our advocacy role will see an increase of interaction between people and kiwi; to engage people in the kiwi struggle and to share with them being up close and personal with live kiwi. We want the wider community to have the opportunity to see and touch kiwi so they too can experience the emotional high of being with our national iconic bird.”

There are 12 funding projects associated with the project, 1000 animals protected, 14564 predators eradicated and more than 6000 volunteer hours.

It is not only kiwi that are benefitting from the predator control work and habitat improvement. While a flourishing kiwi population is an indication of the effect of the Purangi Project, other native species such as long tailed bats are doing well also.

Karen says, “We had motion cameras on one of our tracks to identify kiwi, as well as other species. The motion cameras showed bats flying. A helper on our kiwi call survey had a bat fly into her face, so we knew they lived here.

“When the Government’s science Curious Minds project came along, we thought, let’s put up a proposal to do some research with our local Kaimata school with bats, and we were successful in getting $17,000 in funding.

“We worked with the senior class at Kaimata school, put recorders and bat detectors out, and the students started learning about bats and their habitat.

“They learnt about the linear landscape bats inhabit, which is the corridors they fly through between forest and grassland. They assessed habitat at six potential sites with listening recorders, and they found right behind the cabin and hayshed was a main pathway for the bats. They also found a correlation between the evening temperature and the evening activity of the bats. They found different activity at different times, such as bats moving through one area at 4am in the morning.

“They tested three different hypotheses about the bat roosts, modifying the roosts in different ways.

“The whole school had a bat day, where they built roosts, with controls and modified roosts. They also put together a powerpoint presentation to Prime Minister John Key when he came to open the new Purangi Kiwi office in Inglewood.

“Now they are making a documentary about the bats. It’s been a fantastic project.

“About 30 students and 35 parents and grandparents visited the site at night to listen, and one site had so many bat passes that the machine was going crazy.

The Purangi Kiwi Project has committed to an on-going relationship with Kaimata School. It has a new office in Inglewood, where education is a large component of its work. Here the public can learn about the project, volunteer opportunities, events we are holding and enjoy the changing displays

Donna Davies is the staff member who works with schools to provide educational material and teach students about the wider project.