The Detail’s Sharon Brettkelly joined Project Lead Makere Jenner on a walk up Hirakimatā and to meet seabird ecologist and island restoration specialist Biz Bell.
It’s fascinating listening as Makere shows the emotion of being on her ancestral maunga for the first time and assisting Biz in the banding of takoketai, black petrels.
It has been a tough year for the birds, with the cyclone and weather events flooding nesting burrows. Despite this, Biz says she is confident that Tu Mai Taonga will succeed in ridding Aotea of feral cats and rats.
Listen to Episode One here.
In Episode Two, Sharon talks with Tū Mai Taonga field workers Hiku Davis, Willy West and Karlina Wii-Davies about the difference the project is making in their lives and Operations Manager Chris Giblin maps out how the first phase of the project is being delivered across Te Paparahi and offshore islands.
Listen to Episode Two here.