HALO Whakatane

HALO Whakatane A community led conservation project in the EBOP aiming to create an unfenced sanctuary. We have a range of exciting projects around Whakatāne area.

With the current Covid 19 situation we will not be open to the public for the time being. If you require any assistance with things like trapping please get in touch via [email protected]

HALO Whakatāne aims to facilitate relationships amongst volunteers, to advocate for our environment, to educate our tamariki, and to strengthen the local pest control operations. The 'halo effect' in ecology is where efforts to protect one species radiates throughout the environment and unintentionally protects many others. Our kaiārahi is the tīeke, saddleback, which is an indicator species that is very sensitive to mammalian predation. Sometime in the future we hope to see tīeke from Moutohorā hopping around the streets of Whakatāne. HALO Whakatāne is a charitable trust which is fortunate to be supported by an active group of volunteers. How can you become involved? Become a backyard trapper and support our efforts to fill in the gaps! We have subsidised traps for people living in the Whakatāne area. If you’re curious to see our urban trapping network check out our website. Volunteer - and help us remove pest species. We hold a volunteer day monthly at Ōhope Spit, and are always keen for more faces to join our efforts. Contribute - to our pest control efforts. Are you a keen hunter? We are always needing more red meat to lure stoats into our predator boxes, and gratefully accept donations of dressed meat. Feel free to flick us a message or an email, or pop into the HALOHub on a Thursday to discuss how you can become involved in conservation in the local area.

Thank you so much to everyone who came along on Saturday! 💚With your help, we got over 2,000 plants in the ground! It en...
12/10/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who came along on Saturday! 💚

With your help, we got over 2,000 plants in the ground! It ended up being a longer day than expected, but all that hard mahi was so worth it. Just look at what we achieved 😍

This was the second planting as part of the wider restoration of the Hinemoa Stream with Te Kaunihera ā-rohe o Whakatāne - Whakatāne District Council.

Together, we’re helping create healthier habitats, improve water quality and care for this space for generations to come.

We cannot wait to see how this grows over time 🌱

A massive thank you to Superior Pet Food Co for sponsoring HALO Whakatāne 🙏🏼We currently have a shortage of bait for our...
05/10/2026

A massive thank you to Superior Pet Food Co for sponsoring HALO Whakatāne 🙏🏼

We currently have a shortage of bait for our trappers and Superior Pet Food Co. have kindly donated 160kg of dog roll to keep our trappers going. Dog roll is an effective, high-fat, and strong-smelling bait commonly used in New Zealand for trapping predators.

And as you can see, this is no small donation… it’s taken over our fridge (with Helen for scale) 😂

This donation will greatly support HALO's vision of creating an unfenced sanctuary where Tīeke/Saddleback can live and thrive in the heart of Whakatāne 💚

Shout out to Allandale School, and Maksym 🙌🏼💚
28/09/2026

Shout out to Allandale School, and Maksym 🙌🏼💚

Whilst at Te Ara Manu Lake Ōkataina camp earlier this term, our tamariki enjoyed taking part in some awesome activities alongside Halo Whakatāne.

One of our amazing tamariki, Maksym, went home and with his dad, made some DOC 200 traps and kindly gifted them to HALO Whakatane

Ka rawe Maksym! What an awesome way to continue the mahi at home and give back to our community. 👏🏽

7,000+ native plants and 4 years of mahi at Ōhope Spit 🌱Thank you so much to everyone who joined us yesterday for our fi...
21/09/2026

7,000+ native plants and 4 years of mahi at Ōhope Spit 🌱

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us yesterday for our final planting day at Ōhope Spit for this year’s planting season.

Over the past four years, more than 7,000 natives have been planted around this site - and that milestone belongs to everyone who has contributed along the way.

Whether you’ve helped with planting, site preparation, maintenance, weeding, or simply turned up to lend a hand, ngā mihi nui. This restoration is only possible because of the people who continue to show up 💚

As part of yesterday’s planting, whakaruruhau (woven plant guards) were also put in place to help protect and shelter the new plants from the elements.

Whakaruruhau means to protect, shelter, or keep something safe.
💪🏼 Whaka - typically used as a verb or the doing action.
🦉 Ruru - comes from our manu, the ruru, our kaitiaki, as they are messengers and sacred protectors of Tānemahuta.
💨 Hau - refers to the wind and elements, all descended from our Tipua and Atua.

This planting was delivered in partnership with Ōhope Spit Care Group, Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Ngāti Hokopū, with support from Whakatāne Rotary 💚

18/09/2026

Get your votes in for Bird of the Year! 🧡

Head over to www.birdoftheyear.org.nz and make sure Tīeke is in your Top 5 😉

Did you know kaitiakitanga was named the most beautiful word in the world? 🌱It’s a word that carries a lot of meaning, a...
18/09/2026

Did you know kaitiakitanga was named the most beautiful word in the world? 🌱

It’s a word that carries a lot of meaning, and one that’s closely connected to the kaupapa behind our mahi.

Caring for our whenua is something we’re lucky to do alongside our local iwi, whānau, kura, volunteers, community groups and our wider community 💚

Address

11 Quay Street
Whakatane
3120

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