Imagine waking up to a day filled with birdsong. After the sun sets and our glowing skies turn to nightfall, you experience the rustle of kiwi and bats flitting under our star-sprinkled sky. You can feel the distant boom of the kākāpō before your ears register the sound. Our taonga are protected, our community is thriving and our forests are recovering.
This is a Predator Free Rakiura.
Predator Free Rakiura is an ambitious and courageous project to help our community and nature to thrive together by removing predators.
An incredible amount of work towards a predator-free Rakiura has already been achieved by iwi, the community and various organisations. Many people on and around Rakiura are doing their bit to control predators and keep their homes, vehicles and vessels rat-free. We want to share some of their stories.
Drawing on the combined efforts of so many within our community, who are not only integral to the success of the Project but for many, also the very reason for it, we will work together to develop a single project which aims to remove the predators and create a natural haven for our taonga and our community, forever.
"Imagine what it would be like walking around Stewart Island/Rakiura and seeing so many birds - with birdsong so loud that you can't even hear yourself!" Watch Predator Free Rakiura's vision for restoring Rakiura's natural haven - Rakiura, mauri ora!
We have divided the work to achieve this vision into five main areas: prepare, secure, restore, protect and thrive. Learn more about our approach and about current predator control and biosecurity initiatives.