HALO Whakatāne is committed to creating an unfenced sanctuary in the heart of the Eastern Bay.

With collective impact HALO Whakatāne will demonstrate tangible progress and measurable outcomes. These outcomes will align with the goals and aspirations of both our local stakeholders, and national government organisations, while contributing to landscape scale ecosystem protection, restoration, community support and capability building.

For the last 5 years HALO Whakatāne has been working with community conservation groups and urban residents, schools and service clubs to expand the network of habitat and species protection.

Vision

The vision, an unfenced sanctuary in the heart of the Eastern Bay of Plenty (Eastern Bay), encompasses the desire to emphasise our ability as a community, to work together. A collaborative management style, one of nga mahi tahi – working together as one – emanates HALO Whakatāne, a community led initiative. HALO Whakatāne is founded on the premise that we can do more together than apart. By combining talents and resources, building relationships, and connecting people, we are empowered and enabled.

Our focus:

HALO Whakatāne has chosen the tīeke (saddleback) as our kaiarahi, our leader. The tīeke is a tohu, an indicator species, which can only survive in the most pristine forest habitat. Currently tīeke are only found in fenced sanctuaries, areas with robust pest control and pest-free islands, such as Moutohorā (Whale Island).

The real measure of success will be whether we can once again provide a natural environment here in the Eastern Bay that is healthy and safe enough to sustain tīeke.

Kei te parirau te tīeke! (The tīeke is in flight)

Our three themes necessary to significantly progress our vision:

• Collectively working together within relationships of mutual trust and respect
• Building Rangatahi (youth), skills and capabilities
• Eradicating target pest species to restore and protect native and endemic species

Find Out More
Check out the links below to find out more about Halo Whakatāne: