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Forest & Bird’s centennial year was particularly busy and rewarding, with a full calendar of celebrations alongside our usual mahi as te taiao nature’s voice in Aotearoa.
Our Centennial started with gatherings around the motu – both family-friendly Big Birthday Bashes and branch-hosted parties. It wrapped up with a formal dinner at Government House, hosted by Their Excellencies, the Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand, and Dr Richard Davies.
In between, we hosted dozens of events, large and small. These included:
the release of a stamp series designed by Rachel Walker in collaboration with NZ Post
a tribute to Society founder Captain ‘Val’ Sanderson at Paekākāriki on his beloved Kāpiti Coast, including the unveiling of a sign in the Waikākāriki Wetland marking his life and legacy
the release of titipounamu at Forest & Bird’s Tarapuruhi Bushy Park Sanctuary, near Whanganui
a conference at Te Papa in July, focusing on the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change
an invitation for New Zealanders to nominate their Conservation Heroes
26 Forest & Bird Centennial, where 26 New Zealand writers and artists were invited to visit 13 of our branch-led conservation projects around the country, and then create artworks, a centena poem and essay about their experiences.
Despite the celebratory vibe, throughout 2023 we were constantly reminded that we still share many of the challenges faced by our determined founder, ‘Val’ Sanderson.
While Sanderson might shake his head in despair that we still face so many threats to te taiao despite a century of progress, we believe he would be proud of how many people are now actively involved in the Society.
Our mahi wouldn’t be possible without our 14,201 dedicated volunteers who invested more than 44,590 hours of their time in hands-on support for events, projects and caring for our reserves around the motu.
This included carrying out 6482ha of animal pest control at 39 locations, plant pest control on 5128 ha, and getting 38,162 plants and trees into the soil. Such invaluable work supports the society’s 140 active conservation projects.
2023 saw Arowhenua Reserve in South Canterbury become the Society’s first reserve since 2006. This acquisition was thanks to branch members Fraser Ross and Robert Birks, who made significant gifts towards the nearly $400,000 needed to buy the land and secure it for future generations.
In 2023 we appreciated the support of 10,240 adult members of Forest & Bird plus 1,706 wildly enthusiastic Kiwi Conservation Club members. One hundred and twenty-five local educational events were held throughout the year, reiterating our commitment to our young conservationists.
To keep our members, supporters and the public – young and old, from grassroots branches to the Beehive – up to date with our mahi, we communicated widely. We printed 13,620 copies of Forest & Bird magazine each quarter. A further 36,169 copies of Wild Things magazine were printed and distributed to KCC members over the year.
We also kept in touch digitally, via the KCC newsletter (9,278 subscribers), Nature Action (829 subscribers), while nine issues of E-News were sent to 112,409 subscribers. We spread the word on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook (125,000 Facebook followers in May 2024).
Meanwhile, the Board implemented Mahi Ngātahi, a new strategic approach to ensure the society is working as efficiently as possible, both now and into the future.
In a year of flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle, Forest & Bird’s freshwater advocate Tom Kay presented our timely Making Room for Rivers campaign to 39 groups – including 11 councils – around the country. He was warmly received, and media picked up on the logic behind these science- and nature-based solutions.
The busy Forest & Bird legal team were involved with 27 nationally or regionally significant legal cases in 2023. The society also spearheaded several legal wins, including in the yearslong campaign to stop coal mining at Te Kuha on the West Coast.
In the marine domain, Forest & Bird joined forces with Fish Forever, and kaumātua of Ngāti Kuta and Te Uri o Hikihiki to secure a hard-fought Environment Court decision that protected three areas of the Northland Coast.
Plus, an historic Forest & Bird legal win in the Court of Appeal over East Coast tarakihi sent a clear message that the government must put sustainability before commercial interests when deciding fisheries catch limits.
And in another win for the moana: after more than a decade of campaigning by the Society for Tīkapa Moana the Hauraki Gulf to be protected, there was relief when the Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill passed its first reading in August.
2023 was also the year that the annual Bird of the Year competition went viral, when Last Week Tonight host John Oliver spent up outrageously large on his campaign for the pūteketeke Australasian crested grebe. Hundreds of thousands of votes and an avalanche of media interview requests poured in from around the world. It was chaotic and exciting, and ultimately raised awareness of our manu and the challenges they face in more than 90 countries. It also raised more than $1.2m.
Forest & Bird’s centennial year was memorable in so many ways, with its core question for all New Zealanders: ‘What is your legacy?’
We are proud of all that has been achieved over the past 100 years and determined to keep being a powerful voice for te taiao nature for the next 100, and beyond.