Edith Symes, Raglan ChronicleGumboots, raincoats and woolly hats were the order of the day as 200-odd people sloshed across a muddy field alongside Old Mountain Road and into a marquee last Saturday to celebrate the opening of the Ed Hillary Hope Reserve, a large tract of forest and farmland flanking the Raglan deviation. So persistent…

Peter and Sarah Hillary will be guests of honour at the opening of a new forest reserve near Raglan that bears their famous father’s name, as well as that of a local farming family which has helped protect the area. Sir Edmund Hillary was the long-serving first patron of the Native Forest Restoration Trust which…

Following the success of Eye on Nature 2014, the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust will again host the event with an impressive group of 28 environmentally active partners and sponsors including the Native Forest Restoration Trust at the Auckland Botanic Gardens.The event vision in 2015 is to:“Plant a seed and grow a young mind to engage…

A new reserve between Hamilton and Raglan will result in the largest area of native bush within 20km of Hamilton. Opening in May 2015, the Ed Hillary Hope Reserve is a large property with over 200ha of established forest and over 250ha of farmland well suited for restoration. The area will be restored by the…

Work continues on our William Upton Hewett Memorial Reserve to remark tracks, clear boardwalks and put up new signage. All going well we expect some tracks to reopen for Labour Weekend. A map of tracks expected to be open can be found below. The William Upton Hewett Memorial Reserve is north-west of Whangarei, between Pipiwai and Titoki.…

We’re very pleased to announce that NFRT won the Heritage and Environment category at the fifteenth annual Trustpower Wairoa Community Awards last night. A big thanks to Trustpower Community for recognising the hard work of Honorary Ranger Ian Pickering in bringing community together at our Opoutama Wetland Reserve. Well done Ian! Photographs from the event can be…

If you’re looking for a truly inspirational read, a great resource or a perfect Christmas present why not purchase Paradise Saved at the special web price of $49.99 and donate a portion of the profits to the Native Forest Restoration Trust? Please remember to select “NZ Native Forest Restoration Trust” from the drop down list of sanctuaries…

We have decided to close all tracks at William Upton Hewett Memorial Reserve to allow for some repair and re-marking work to be carried out. Some of the more easily fixed tracks will reopen in October but the back loop, which was affected by a fire and slips, will remain closed until early 2015. We will upload…

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Colin Shore as Honorary Ranger of Pigeon Bush Reserve. Colin is ex army, from the Wairarapa, and brings with him a great depth of skills and experience including planning, pest control, track maintenance and wetland restoration. He is Chairman of Forest & Bird, Wairarapa…

TBfree New Zealand is working with us to stamp out pests in the Rangitoto Range to control bovine tuberculosis (TB) and bring the birds back. The Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto ranges make up a part of New Zealand’s 10 million hectare TB risk area in which TB-infected wild animals have been found. Rangitoto Station is one of…