Environment – Reflections on 2025

As we come to the end of the year, the Pest Free Hibiscus Coast Project staff team and I often reflect on the year as we organise our volunteer celebrations and finish off the November rat baiting round.

I’ve also been talking to others in the wider community about all the work that Forest & Bird staff and volunteers do locally, such as our supportive local board members and most recently Gulf Harbour Community Trust. As a result, I’ve realised that much of it goes unseen – we’re not ones for blowing our own trumpet,so here’s a brief rundown on our work across 2025 to protect the environment for nature and the people that live here.

Predator control: Did you know that Forest & Bird partners with Auckland Council to control rats, stoats, possums and hedgehogs on 131 local parks as well as several large private blocks? Together our volunteers and staff service 3000 traps and bait stations across 600 hectares. This work is backed by Hibiscus & Bays Local Board as an important community service, removing thousands of rats each year to keep both the birds, the bush and our properties safe. In addition, around 1600 residents have backyard rat traps or borrow possum traps from us. Most people never see rats, but you’d be shocked at how many we remove through our project’s work. 

Checking it’s working: Any programme that uses volunteer time and receives support from Council and donations should monitor its effectiveness, and this is a vital part of our programme. This year we reported the lowest ever pest animal detections during our monitoring rounds, showing we are making real gains and must keep going. 

Nature on our doorstep: We are lucky on the Coast to have high biodiversity for an urban area, but we need to work hard to keep it that way. Our bird counts over the last 12 years show positive trends, with tūī and riroriro, (grey warbler) showing significant increases. This year we also celebrated new records of species increasing their range outside Shakespear Regional Park, including pōpokotea, (whitehead), korimako, (bellbird) and kākāriki. For those more into lizards, although scarce, forest geckos and ornate skinks have been recorded on new sites too.

Engaging the next generation: Forest & Bird has hosted several community events this year, including night walks and the legendary Bug Man Ruud Kleinpaste. Community Activator Charlie continues to work with schools to bring conservation fun to the classroom, and has established a new youth group, Rangatahi Rangers. This enables young people to experience real life conservation and make like-minded friends through monthly activities. Get in touch if you have a young person aged 14 to 20 who might be keen. 

Thank you to all my readers this year, wishing you a wonderful holiday season, I’ll see you in 2026!