It’s been an exciting summer for the HealthPost Nature Trust, as we work to regenerate nature and restore biodiversity at the Northwestern tip of the South Island, New Zealand. The HealthPost Nature Trust is one important way that HealthPost delivers on its vision to have a lasting, positive impact on people and planet, and we reached another milestone recently in our regeneration goals, with the translocation of 92 pakahā fluttering shearwater chicks to the Wharariki Ecosanctuary in January 2024.
This is our third and possibly final translocation of this burrowing seabird species, with a total of 196 pakahā translocated over the past 3 years. Around 200 birds is considered the basis for a viable breeding colony and a successful pakahā colony was created through translocation to Matiu Somes Island (Wellington) with similar numbers. This Wharariki Ecosanctuary colony is set to be the only pakahā colony on the mainland South Island.
Conditions for the breeding season were better this year at the pakahā source colony at Kokomohua Marine Reserve in the Marlborough Sounds, and as a result we were able to translocate almost twice the number of pakahā than in previous years. This has taken a huge effort from skilled and dedicated HealthPost Nature Trust volunteers, working in partnership with iwi group Manawhenua ki Mohua, Te Atiawa Trust, and DOC - the Department of Conservation.
The tireless Nature Trust volunteer team have been putting in hundreds of hours at the Wharariki Ecosanctuary to make sure that the chicks are well cared for. This includes being out at the remote and windy Cape Farewell early in the morning whipping up sardine smoothies to hand feed the chicks. When the weather closes in a ‘burrow manager’ stands in the rain for as long as it takes to make sure the fluffy chicks stay dry as they are being fed and checked. Translocating these taonga is a huge responsibility and the team take it very seriously!
All translocated pakahā chicks from previous years have fledged successfully – including this year’s chicks who have already fledged and are out at sea. After years of planning, site preparation, and ongoing (non-toxic) pest control and revegetation efforts, we are on our way to realising our hope of seeing these beautiful birds returning to the cliffs at Cape Farewell in their thousands at dusk, as they would have once.
We expect to see the first of the tagged, translocated birds returning later this year, making the Wharariki Ecosanctuary home to the only mainland colony of this species in Te Waipounamu the South Island, where pakahā would once have bred in great abundance. Bringing the nutrients of the sea to the mainland, in the form of guano (bird poo), these burrowing seabirds boost the regeneration of an entire, rich ecosystem of plant, insect, and lizard life.
Going forward in 2024, we’re preparing for more bird species reintroductions, including toanui (fleshfooted shearwater) and pāteke (brown teal), and protecting remnant populations of threatened native wildlife such as the rare Nelson Green Gecko and Little Blue Penguins. We’ll also be funding more conservation research to better understand our highly biodiverse project area. We’re currently busy extending the inner sanctuary (the fence within the fence) in anticipation of the pakahā beginning to return home from Australian and Subantarctic waters to burrow and breed!
We’ve been amazed by the momentum that this project has gathered since the HealthPost Nature Trust was founded in 2017 to regenerate nature and engage people in conservation. There are at least 50 people involved in the project regularly, generously giving their time and skills, from contributing expert knowledge at the planning stages to being hands-on planting trees, feeding birds and checking traps. We want to support a collaborative, community-based model for caring for our spectacular natural environment. There is such a sense of connection and hope that comes from working alongside each other in the service of nature. It feels like everyone wins.
The HealthPost Nature Trust mahi is aligned to HealthPost’s mission is to help make mindful, healthy choices easier by championing rigorous ingredient standards, supply chain transparency, and environmental accountability. HealthPost is proud to be taking the lead in raising the bar in the natural products industry and in regenerating nature in our corner of the world. We hope we’re encouraging businesses of all sizes around Aotearoa to do the same. You don’t have to be big to make a difference, because you won’t be doing it alone!
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