Formation of the Piroa Conservation Trust

It's now 4 years since the formation of Waipu Kiwis and the broader Piroa Brynderwyns Landcare steering group. We have now grown to a size and scale of operations that a formal trust will enable us better to do our work, especially the ability to seek additional funding from grant funders.  This is particularly important, as The Department of Conservation currently do not have the budget to carry out pest control in any of the DOC reserves in our area (1,000ha total). PBL has introduce pest control to three reserves (350ha) during 2022. We have also been successful in delivering on NRC outcomes and now want to accelerate our conservation efforts across a much broader portion of the HVA area.

The Piroa Conservation Trust is officially registered on the Charities Commission Register. The appointed trustees have met for the first time officially in mid 2022 and have commenced the activity to review the Strategic Direction of our organisation in conjunction with key stakeholders and members of the PBL. It will be a reflective process which the five trustees hope will set the vision for the next 10 years.

The five trustees and the elected officers are Gill Webb (Chair), Peter Hunt (Treasurer), and trustee David Mather. The Trust is also overseeing fund which will support our Healthy Water goals. If you would like to be in touch with the Trustees then please email Gill at [email protected].

Becoming a legal trust will help PCT to build stronger partnerships with agencies such as DOC and NRC, as well as help us access further funding and community grants. These next steps are crucial for extending the scope and scale of our pest control work across PCT’s 23,000ha High Value Area.