Empowering communities to reconnect with and improve biodiversity Biodiversity Partnerships

The Kanorau Koiora Taketake Indigenous Biodiversity Grant is a contestable fund for community-led projects. The grant aims to restore and protect indigenous biodiversity and support connections between nature and people. Successful applicants will receive funding along with advice and support from our biodiversity advisors.

Learn what the criteria are, how to apply and even discover what previous grantees were able to achieve with their funding.

If you want to connect with other groups or individuals that work on indigenous biodiversity projects across the Horizons region, or you need some inspiration or assistance with the work you do, you will want to sign up to our Connecting Conservation newsletter.

We hope to share your project stories, to inspire and motivate others with similar projects, share resources, events and workshops, and provide funding and volunteer opportunities.

To help you with your biodiversity projects we have developed a management plan template and an accompanying guide. We also have information about planting guides and other information that may be useful.

Please email our biodiversity advisors at BiodiversityCommunityTeam@horizons.govt.nz for the management plan template or other information and advice that you may require.

Bushy Park Tarapuruhi near Whanganui is both a nationally significant sanctuary and a long-standing partnership story with Forest & Bird and Nga Rauru. The 89 hectare forest was enclosed in a predator-proof fence in 2005 and has been able to persist as a rare example of healthy North Island temperate lowland forest. As a result, the sanctuary has considerable structural complexity and diversity, supporting around 160 plant and a number of rare and vulnerable birds including hihi (stitchbird) and tieke (saddleback).

Horizons supports Bushy Park Trust through annual funding, technical advice, and ecological input. The trust uses this support toward pest animal control, pest plant management, track maintenance, and predator-proof fence and gate maintenance. The site shows how long-term investment and local stewardship can work together to maintain a highly valued ecological refuge.

For more information, visit the Bushy Park Tarapuruhi website.

Te Papangaio te Wharangi Manawatū Estuary at the mouth of the Manawatū River near Foxton, is the largest in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The 558 hectare estuary is an important site in the lifecycle of many indigenous and migratory bird and fish species and is a significant recreational resource. It, along with only five other sites in New Zealand, has achieved RAMSAR status.

The protection of this site is overseen by the Manawatū Estuary Management Team which includes representatives from Department of Conservation, Horowhenua District Council, Horizons, The Wildlife Foxton Trust, The Manawatū Estuary Trust, Foxton Beach Progressive Association Inc, the NZ Four Wheel Drive Association, Forest & Bird and mana whenua; Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Muaūpoko and Rangitāne o Manawatu and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. The management of this area is guided by the Papangaio Te Wharangi Manawatu Estuary Management Plan 2025-2035.

Aside from supporting MEMT, Horizons contributes funding for pest control and our Regional Response Team maintain a network of predator traps in the Fernbird Flat area.

Te Āpiti - Manawatū Gorge is one of the region’s most iconic landscapes, combining outstanding scenery, strong cultural significance, high visitor use, and important biodiversity values.

The project area spans approximately 2,700 hectares of the Manawatū Gorge and includes 900 hectares of indigenous forest covering public conservation land, local authority land, transport corridors, and private land.

Horizons is actively involved in the protection, development and promotion of the project area through a long-running partnership supported by a governance group that includes three councils, five iwi groups, DOC, and community representation.

Visit the website to learn more about all the ways you can enjoy Te Āpiti through walking, biking and exploring this stunning landscape.

Kia Whārite is a landscape-scale biodiversity protection project spanning more than 180,000 hectares to the west and north-west of Mt Ruapehu. It centres around a longstanding collaboration between Horizons and the Department of Conservation since 2008, with support from iwi, landowners, forestry interests, and other partners. The Whanganui River Journey and the Te Araroa Trail pass thought the heart of the project area which includes large tracts of the Whanganui National Park and private land.

DOC maintains a comprehensive predator and goat control programme across the Whanganui National Park in the area and services predator traps along the Manganui o te Ao River. Horizons maintains the extensive predator trap networks on the Retaruke River and in two forests in the Waimarino area. As a result of this sustained protection, the monitored whio population has increased to at least 57 pairs across the two rivers. The North Island Brown Kiwi population in the area has also increased substantially in these trapped areas.

Southern Ruahine Kiwi is a partnership between Environment Network Manawatū's Manawatū River Source to Sea Collective and Te Kāuru Eastern Manawatū River Hapū Collective, with the vision of returning North Island eastern brown kiwi to the southern Ruahine Ranges. This goal is being approached through intensive control of mustelids on a landscape scale, with a predator trapping network over 23,000ha.

The project group, with funding support and advice from Horizons, works in strong collaboration with tangata whenua, local farmers and volunteers. They actively seek to educate and inform individuals and diverse groups of their work, and how people can make a positive impact on this rohe.

The Pūkaha Mount Bruce forest restoration project commenced in April 2001. The project aims to restore the area of remnant indigenous forest next to the Pukaha National Wildlife Centre.

Alongside Greater Wellington Regional Council, Horizons' manages an extended 'buffer zone' of pest control around the reserve boundaries to assist in the restoration work. This includes predator trapping and old mans beard control. This buffer zone significantly lowers the risk of pest species reinvading Pūkaha Mount Bruce and plays an essential part in the restoration process. horizons also contributes funding to assist Pūkaha with its annual biodiversity protection work.

The Waitārere Beach community pays a targeted rate to Horizons to control exotic plants and restore native plants on the dunes. Horizons biodiversity advisors, in collaboration with the Waitārere Beach Progressive Ratepayers Association, utilise this funding to deliver a weed control and planting programme focused on environmental restoration in areas along the dunes, residential beach frontage, and the banks of the Wairarawa Stream from the beach upstream to Wairarawa Lagoon.

Rangitīkei residents pay a targeted rate to Horizons for the control of Old Man's Beard in their district. The Rangitīkei Environment Group carries out this control work. The community group was founded in 2001, and its primary goal is to help reduce the infestation of Old Man's Beard in the Rangitīkei area, particularly in the twelve reserves that are enjoyed by the public.