After being pushed back due to Covid-19, the Forest Bridge Trust is ready to kick off their Eastern Connectivity project.

In 2018, the trust carried out research to determine which types of birds were likely to move between Tawharanui and Mount Tamahunga, what sort of ecological areas existed between these two points and what was needed to restore habitat gaps. They also examined the sustainability gaps in the ecosystems, and the existing level of landowner and community engagement in ecological connectivity. 

Moving forward, they will now be carrying out baseline monitoring of a few key areas so that they will know how effective their efforts have been after the project’s two year timeline. A conservation biologist will be leading this work. The monitoring involves exploring the area, observing and recording birdlife and vegetation.

Forest Bridge Trust has also been fortunate enough to receive funding from Auckland Council for the project, enabling them to employ a project coordinator and cover some of the cost of the project over two years.

In the next few months, Forest Bridge Trust will also be running pest control workshops for landowners in each area. These workshops are free, and each landowner will receive a Timms trap (for possums) and a DOC200 (for mustelids) to put on their property. The workshops will focus on pest behaviour, the best baits to use, best places to put traps and how to safely and effectively use the two traps. The workshops are also great for bringing neighbours together and creating a community with a common cause; protecting your beautiful area.