✨💚🌿 He Mihi Nui ki a Dianne rāua ko Selwyn June 💚🌿✨ All of us here at the Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society would like to congratulate Dianne and Selwyn June on being awarded the King's Service Medal for Services to Wildlife Conservation. 🥳👏🏽 For more than 40 years, Dianne and Selwyn have dedicated their lives to the protection and restoration of Aotearoa's precious wildlife and ecosystems. Together, they have become a driving force behind conservation efforts throughout the Waikato, Pureora regions and for us here in Pirongia. They have inspired generations of volunteers through their commitment, knowledge and tireless mahi. Since joining the Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society in the early 2000s, they have held numerous leadership roles and made an extraordinary contribution to species protection projects. Their work establishing predator control in Pureora Forest has been vital to the success of the Okahukura Project and the return of Kōkako to Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu. Many of us know Dianne and Selwyn not only for their remarkable achievements in conservation, but for their generosity, encouragement and unwavering dedication to Te Taiao. Whether mentoring volunteers, sharing knowledge in the ngahere, supporting research, organising field projects, or quietly getting on with the mahi that needs doing, they have helped shape conservation in our region for decades. This King's Service Medal is a fitting recognition of a lifetime of service and commitment to the protection of our taonga species and natural heritage. The forests are healthier, the birdsong is stronger, and our communities are richer because of your dedication. Ngā mihi nui ki a kōrua. Thank you for your leadership, your service, and your aroha for Te Taiao. 🌿💚 Congratulations Dianne and Selwyn on this well-deserved honour. 💚🌿 NOTE: Photo taken this week while hard at work volunteering looking after the ngahere. #KingsServiceMedal #PirongiaTeAroaroOKahuRestorationSociety #TeTaiao #kōkako #pekapeka #conservation #VolunteerPower #mauriorakākāpō

🌿 Volunteers Needed - Kaniwhaniwha Stream Restoration 🌿 Following the severe weather events earlier this year, parts of the Kaniwhaniwha stream banks near Pirongia suffered significant damage. Now it's time to help nature recover. Together, DOC and Te Pahū Landcare have 4,000 native plants ready to go into the ground to begin restoring the flood-damaged stream edges and strengthening this important waterway for future generations. 📅 Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 June 📍 Kaniwhaniwha, Pirongia 🌱 4,000 native plants to be planted Whether you can spare a few hours or a full day, all help is appreciated. These planting days are a great opportunity to: 🌿 Support the recovery of our local environment 🌿 Connect with like-minded people 🌿 Get your hands in the soil 🌿 Be part of a positive community effort We acknowledge that Saturday coincides with Andrew's memorial. Andrew cared deeply about this whenua, and it's hard not to think he would have been right there amongst the volunteers helping to get these plants in the ground. If you'd like to be involved, we'd love to have you join us. Together, we can help restore what was lost and strengthen the resilience of this special place. 🌿 Mauri Tū - When we stand for our maunga, 🌿 Mauri Ora - the maunga stands for us.

🌿 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TRACK MAINTENANCE🌿 Help ensure our volunteer teams can safely access operational areas throughout the coming seasons. SATURDAY MAY 23 - Mt Pirongia SUNDAY MAY 31 - Mt Pirongia 🔹 6–10 volunteers needed 🔹 Good mountain fitness required 🔹 Bush experience helpful TRACK CLEARING & FIELD PREPARATION Come spend a day on the maunga helping prepare our operational lines ahead of the upcoming restoration and predator control season. Led by Team Leader Mike Pudney, this practical field day is an important part of preparing our ngahere and operational systems ahead of winter and spring restoration work. If you would like to volunteer please contact Mike Pudney 📧 mike.pudney@mtpirongia.org.nz

🌿 WE NEED YOUR HELP THIS WEEKEND 🌿 Come plant with us at Whangamarino Wetland 💚 After a rough season of weather and disruptions, we are heading out to do some hands-on restoration mahi... and we’d love your help. Together with DOC, we’ll be helping restore wetland vegetation and protect surrounding farmland from the spread of the pest weed Cuscuta. This is a beautiful chance to: 🌱 Connect with te taiao 🌱 Learn practical conservation skills 🌱 Spend time with good people 🌱 Give back in a real and meaningful way ✨ Families, tamariki, rangatahi and first-time volunteers are all welcome. No experience needed... just bring your energy, warm clothes, and a willingness to get a little muddy and have a laugh along the way 😊 📍 Whangamarino Wetland 414 Island Block Road, Meremere 📅 Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 May ⏰ Meet 8:30am We usually finish around 3pm... or when the plants run out, the rain rolls in, or we decide we’ve earned a cuppa ☕🌿 🔹 Please bring: • Lunch & water • Gardening gloves • Gumboots or sturdy footwear • Raincoat • Change of shoes • Something to sit on Tea, coffee, juice & home baking provided 💚 If you’d like to join us, or need a ride, contact: Dianne & Selwyn June 027 497 8151 djune@xtra.co.nz Come be part of something good for the whenua, the wetlands, and the future 🌿

Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu is home to the long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus), one of only two extant bat species endemic to New Zealand. The distribution of these bats on Pirongia maunga is not well known. We are currently undertaking our first annual bat survey on the mountain this year, through acoustic monitoring using the Department of Conservation’s acoustic bat monitors (ABMs). The long-term aim of this project is to determine whether predator control operations on Pirongia Maunga are having a positive impact on bat survival, looking at the differences in bat distributions in areas with no pest control compared to areas with long-term sustained pest control carried out by the society. #batconservation #bats #nzbat

The Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society manages pest control operations in a block within Northern Pureora Forest, Okahukura. Okahukura Valley operations involve baiting over 1000 bait stations which are filled and emptied by volunteers throughout the year. Peanut butter lured tracking cards in tunnels are used to check rat numbers within this pest management area. After baiting this year, the rat index decreased substantially from 39% to 2.5%. #ngahere #conservation

This year’s Kookako survey found a total of 23 pairs and 5 territorial single manu under management areas on Pirongia maunga. 2 pairs were found in Sainsbury, 1 pair and 1 single in Kaniwhaniwha, and 20 pairs and 4 singles in the Mangakaraa area. This is an increase from 16 pairs and 4 singles overall in the 2022 survey. Monitoring of a subset of pairs across the breeding and nesting season is currently being undertaken. #birdwatching #nzbirds #kokako Photo - Amanda Rogers

Baiting is a central part of our pest control operations on Pirongia Maunga. Bait stations are refilled by volunteers at this time of year. Baiting days are held by the Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society both on Pirongia, within the Sainsbury and Mangaakara blocks and in the Okahukura block in Pureora. Baiting days are a great way to get out and explore the bush while having a positive impact in controlling rat and possum populations. Volunteers have the opportunity to meet the wildlife, including Kookako, while out on bait lines. #wildlife #nzbush #volunteer Click the link in the bio to learn more about operations on Pirongia. Photo and video credits - Halle Aish