New Zealand Nature Fund

18/06/2026

It's World Albatross Day and we think it's only right that these guys get a whole day to themselves.

The NZNF works to support the Antipodean Albatross alongside Live Ocean and all funds go directly to the efforts of Southern Seabirds and the amazing work they do.

The The Royal Albatross Centre is doing some incredible work and if you're in Dunedin, make sure to get down. There's few in the country who know more about these magnificent birds.

16/06/2026

Sometimes projects like the Maukahuka restoration seem too big, too vast to conceive of. That's why it's really quite reassuring to see what success looks like, and what other people have done well.

Our Aussie mates have done a great job on Macqaurie Island and it's an epic example of the type of work we hope to achieve in the Auckland islands.

These sub-Antarctic islands have phenomenal biodiversity and the time to make a difference is now.

Check out this story: https://ow.ly/fbBt50SjFQI

It's ten years since a world-first eradication campaign rid Macquarie Island of rabbits and rodents. Today, the sub-Antarctic island is transformed, with tussock grass flourishing and hillsides carpeted in green.

14/06/2026

Three types of tiny tyrants have turned paradise into purgatory. Mice, cats, and pigs – sounds like a children's book, doesn't it?

Except this tale ends with 32 bird species vanishing from Maukahuka forever.

Watch Stephen Horn's eyes when he talks about this place. That's someone watching a treasure chest being ransacked in slow motion, one precious species at a time.

The Gibson's albatross doesn't know it's fighting for survival. The Auckland Island rail can't comprehend why its world keeps shrinking. The megaherbs; those Dr. Seuss-like blooms that carpet these islands, don't understand why their roots are being torn from ancient soil.

But we understand. And more importantly, we can fix this.

It's David versus Goliath, except Goliath is a mouse, and David needs your help to buy a really good slingshot.

Visit https://ow.ly/wsYB50W31k1 to help make this project come to life.

13/06/2026

Who says diggers can't be delicate?

At Wai o Toura, ohe patient and incredible DOC conservation team is using everything from heavy machinery to water blasters to carefully uncover ancient limestone formations.

It's a bit like giving the landscape a very expensive spa treatment - except instead of revealing glowing skin, we're creating perfect conditions for our rarest native plants.

Speaking of rare finds, we have five "nationally critical" plant species making their home here.

That's conservation-speak for incredibly precious and basically impossible to find anywhere else.

Thanks to this work, these botanical VIPs are getting the five-star treatment they deserve.

10/06/2026

Picture this: windswept rātā forests, alpine tussock, and carpets of megaherbs (which sound like something from a sci-fi novel but are actually just impressively large plants).

Once home to 500+ native species with over 100 exclusive residents found nowhere else, this island has been suffering the ecological equivalent of terrible houseguests who refuse to leave and keep raiding the fridge.

The Maukahuka pest-free initiative isn't just asking these invaders to kindly depart – it's showing them the door.

When complete, we'll have the world's largest pest-free subantarctic island, where southern indigenous flora and fauna can finally live their best lives without uninvited dinner guests.

09/06/2026

When your entire species could fit in a small café, you need a bold plan for the future.

That's why conservation for protecting our current tara iti population is expansive, and bigger.

The mission? Create 3-5 new breeding sites, expand predator control, and basically roll out the red carpet for these rare birds.

Right now, we're looking to raise $46,000 to build new safe breeding sites. Small change when you're talking about saving an entire species!

After all, last year's breeding success (19 new chicks!) proves that when we give these birds the right conditions, they literally soar.

07/06/2026

Frank 837* is a male Antipodean albatross who has been waiting years for a mate who is almost certainly never coming back.

He is not unusual. Across the breeding colony, the s*x ratio is increasingly skewed towards males, because female albatross are being killed at sea. More than 200 Antipodean albatross are now tracked by GPS through a collaboration between DOC and Southern Seabirds. The flight paths cover the South Pacific from the Australian coast to South America, tens of thousands of kilometres per breeding season, and they overlap with an estimated 350 tuna longline vessels.

These birds raise a single chick every two years and take ten years to reach breeding age. The maths is unforgiving. Even a small number of deaths per vessel, multiplied across the fleet, compounds into population decline.

Late last year, DOC and Southern Seabirds released the Seabird-Safe Fishing Toolkit, developed with the fishing industry, covering line-weighting, setting times, tori lines, and offal management. It is a practical, collaborative response to a problem that satellite tracking has made impossible to ignore.

nznaturefund.nz



*(images of a chap like Frank, who probably isn't Frank, but might be Frank)

05/06/2026

Imagine finding your grandmother's jewelry box, filled with heirlooms found nowhere else on Earth. Now imagine mice nesting in it.

That's Maukahuka – a 25-million-year-old treasure chest where evolution crafted one-of-a-kind wonders. Species that exist nowhere else, clinging to clifftops while invasive predators circle below.

Stephen Horn knows what we're about to lose forever and he knows how important it is that we do something now.

This is a rescue mission for irreplaceable taonga, breathing life that took millennia to perfect and moments to imperil.

Time's running out and that metaphorical jewelery box is cracking.

Help us save what can't be replaced: https://ow.ly/iZPX50W31oh

04/06/2026

How much does it cost to monitor and track the population of the Tawaki / Fiordland Crested Penguin over five years?

$110,000. Over five years.

This is the only way we will know how the Tawaki are responding to changing ocean conditions. We fear that the population is declining, but without data, we just don't know. And without knowledge, we can't take action.

Donate if you can. Spread the word regardless. And know that one small action may help to keep a species alive.

01/06/2026

Moving 350 tonnes of seashells might sound like the world's most ambitious beach collection, but for our tara iti team, it's all in a day's work.

Every year, we airlift 5-10 tonnes of shell and sand to create perfect breeding spots for NZ's rarest bird.

Why go to all this trouble?

These tiny fairy terns need their nesting sites just right - elevated enough to dodge high tides but cozy enough to raise chicks. Think of it as luxury beachfront development, but exclusively for our feathered friends.

(And this year's record-breaking breeding season proves that sometimes, playing sandcastles on an epic scale really pays off!).