Land Operations
Restoring the mauri (life essence) of the Raukūmara is not just about action, it is about measuring, proving, and learning from every step of the journey. Our monitoring is twofold: Results Monitoring to confirm that pest control is working. Outcome Monitoring: to demonstrate forest recovery, species resurgence, and cultural reconnection.
Our operations team has become a cornerstone of the restoration of Raukūmara Pae Maunga. Their role extends beyond pest control - they are building capacity, generating vital ecological data, and creating pathways for whānau and hapū to lead the protection of their own forests.
Between 2021 and 2025, the team established three Intensively Managed Sites (IMS), covering 2,909 hectares of the Raukūmara. These areas are ecological anchors within the wider 130,000-hectare landscape, chosen for their cultural significance, biodiversity value, and ability to serve as training grounds for future conservation leaders.
Each site combines on-the-ground pest suppression with long-term ecological monitoring, ensuring that outcomes can be tracked and reported with accuracy.
In addition to our intensively managed sites are six permanent monitoring stations in the heart of the forest. Together, these form a living laboratory, providing evidence that guides decisions and ensures that progress is both visible and measurable.
Learning from the Raukūmara through monitoring and restoration.
We are learning alongside the forest every day. Through hands-on restoration, careful monitoring and a deep commitment to the work, our team brings strength which is shaped by mātauranga, experience and training that supports the work: certified kiwi-avoidance trainers, aerial 1080 leads, trapping network experts and backcountry navigators who move through this terrain as if it were like their own backyard, because for us it is.
Our team gathers technical data across the forest to understand pest densities, forest health, native species presence, and water clarity. But we also pay attention to the things the forest shows us in other ways - the smell of the ngahere, the changing colours, the sounds of birds and insects, the feeling of different textures and the taste of indigenous food systems.
These observations help us read the forest as a whole and give the Raukūmara
a voice that otherwise falls silent.
RAUKŪMARA FOREST, AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
Our operations team work in some of the most challenging environments in Aotearoa - steep, remote, and unforgiving terrain where safety, precision, and teamwork are critical. To meet this challenge, we have delivered hundreds of hours of targeted training and development, equipping our team with world-class conservation skills while nurturing resilience, cultural identity, and future leadership.