ETET- East Taranaki Environment Collective

25/09/2026

Olly and Halle have been on the tools recently replacing some rusted traps on one of the traplines.

We are hoping to see some fresh catches next month when the stoats see our shiny new trap mechanisms and can't resist taking a tour.

21/09/2026

Earlier this month, ETEC was joined by some of the students from the WITT pest control and conservation courses for a day resetting our A24 and A12 network in the Pouiatoa.

Volunteers were split up into three groups and sent to different areas within the block. Despite unruly weather we managed to get a third of the traps reset, about 500 in total.

Ngā mihi to our friends at DOC and Ngāti Mutunga who also donated their time to help smash out a few extra lines on the day too.

A huge thanks to the Pacific Development Conservation Trust who funded the servicing of our A24 and A12 network through their fund.

07/09/2026

Check out what our ranger saw recently while out servicing traplines in Taramoukou!

Taramoukou is a really special place, which supports a population of brown kiwi out near Tarata and Purangi.

Our team has been helping Te Rūnunga o te Ngāti Mutunga with servicing the mustelid traplines in the area to help protect the rare wetland biodiversity and kiwi and we always love getting out there.

02/09/2026

Check out these goats fighting in front of one of our trail cameras in the Pouiatoa!

Recently DOC has contracted some goat hunters out into the block for a couple weeks to help get on top of the goats. Taranaki hill country bush has some of the highest populations of goats across the country, and goats do massive damage to native regenerating bush.

It’s crucial that we keep populations of ungulates under control in areas with kokako populations. Many of the foods kokako rely on are species which are also very palatable to introduced mammals, so when goats chew down on these saplings it's detrimental for our future forests. These goats videos are a great way of monitoring their numbers.

29/08/2026

A local Inglewoodian recently came to ETEC with a problem - a pumpkin thief loose in the garden.

After picking up a T-Rex trap and tunnel for $10, he was back a week later with a smile and some photos showing a successful catch.

We were stoked to hear about the result and grateful for permission to share the photos!

26/08/2026

After we had a few traps on one of our traplines mauled by pigs, the team has been busy trying to repair and replace missing traps in the area.

Maintaining infrastructure is super important to keeping things ticking along, but sometimes this proves a bit challenging in papa country…

You’ve gotta laugh or you’ll cry somedays.

12/08/2026

Some amazing news for Taranaki kōkako 💚

We’re so stoked for Taranaki’s Kōkako and all the partners working to protect them! A big new boost from the DOC Community Fund will help support the North-East Taranaki Kōkako Landscape Project — a shared effort across iwi leads, landowners, community groups and volunteers to care for more than 46,000 hectares of connected ngahere.

We’re grateful to be one part of this wider kaupapa, alongside so many committed partners. Ngā mihi to DOC for the support for Taranaki projects!

This is about years of mahi, predator control, monitoring, local knowledge and people working together — all helping kōkako return, breed and thrive across the landscape.

Check out our news, and latest ETEC Newsletter for more info.

More than $1 million in Government funding will help restore some of Taranaki’s rarest coastal habitat and protect kōkako in the region’s north-east, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.

07/08/2026

Check out this wicked trapline we have out in Pouiatoa conservation area along the Waitara river.

There’s some pretty gnarly slips on this line, so you have got to channel your inner goat a bit while out on the hills.

Such beautiful country out East

03/08/2026

Last friday was ranger appreciation day, but here at ETEC, every day is ranger appreciation day.

Check out this photo of Olly on route to do some track cutting. It’s been a wicked month for frosts this July and out east, the frosts can be especially gnarly, which makes for a fun drive in on the quad or side by side.