Natural to Place

By honouring the knowledge of the forest and caring for all of the things that keep it in balance, we move towards becoming ‘natural’ to place. No amount of time or caring changes history or substitutes soul-deep infusion with the land, but we can learn the principles of the forest, learn the names of the flora and fauna whose lives are dependent on it, and the role that each plays in keeping our environments strong.

Before people arrived, the forest was in balance and in harmony, with each element fulfilling its purpose. Our entry into the forest has upset this balance. We now need to learn skills in how to create and to heal our environment, to counteract the skills we have previously learnt, that have damaged and destroyed it.

Kohimarama Forest has the potential to be our teacher, letting us understand the deep reciprocity of giving and taking that regenerates natural environments. Perhaps then we too can become natural to our place, learning to live as if the future matters, and taking care of land as if we are a part of it.

Get Involved

Eastern Bays Songbird Project— Eastern Bays Songbird Project Inc. is a non-governmental organisation whose aim is to restore and regenerate the natural ecosystems of the Eastern Bays to create a sanctuary that is alive with birds, and enhances the lives of those who move within it. Their role is to inspire and support the community to take action both on their own properties and in local open spaces to nurture their environments in way that allows birds and invertebrates to flourish. The project specifically supports residents to control animal pests and to replace pest plants with native trees. They also connect and coordinate collaborations between previously isolated natural areas throughout the Eastern Bays

Every Wednesday morning, EBSP works within Kohimarama Forest to coordinate and educate volunteers from throughout the Eastern Bays area who are seeking hands on experience with environmental restoration practices that can be used in their own backyards.

Please come and join us from 9am-12pm. Bring gloves and wear appropriate protective clothing and footwear so that you can learn how to set a trap or remove noxious weeds, and see new seedlings emerge form the forest floor.

Neighbourhood Plant Swap - Exchange a weed tree in your back yard for a native tree to help birds spread seeds into the forest and the wider neighbourhood that will restore a balanced and more resilient ecosystem.

Grants, Crowdfunding and Sponsorship

Orakei Local Board — In the Ōrākei Local Board Annual Plan, community and the environment are recognised as the principal areas of focus. The board has established an Enviro Network that will link enviro groups with schools, clubs, retirement villages, businesses and the wider community to expand knowledge and resources that promote Enviro Protection while ensuring efforts are responsive to Enviro Change. OLB has been instrumental in supporting efforts to protect the Kohimarama Forest ecology by providing grant funding and opening opportunities to collaborate with other groups in the Enviro Network so that Ōrākei’s wider environment can be protected and enhanced in a cohesive manner.

Give a Little — Our Give A Little campaign provides an opportunity for people to offer support. Smaller donations and comments (numbers of supporters rather than dollar amounts) enable us to know that we have community-based support for our vision and our path towards achieving it. https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/kohiforest

Sponsorship and Donations — We are now seeking partnerships with philanthropists and businesses who are able to contribute larger donations able to help us purchase the forest. We are also seeking support for a strategic model that protects and enhances the forest’s ecology, while also hosting visitors in a way that provides opportunities for them to understand the forest and connect to it deeply. Please contact us at: kohiforest@gmail.com

Future Projects

Delivery of Forest Restoration Workshops — Provision of a demonstration model for the resilient recovery of both large and small areas of native bush. Workshops would offer practical advice on the safe removal of noxious weeds, trapping of pests, planting of native plants, soil retention and volunteer management for schools and community groups.

Tool Rental and Material Supply — Provision of equipment and materials needed to successfully remove weeds and pests are expensive to purchase. Kohimarama forest could store and maintain a supply of tools able to be used by local individuals and organisations.

Native Seedling Sharing — As the canopy and floor of the forest are restored, seedlings have appeared in significant numbers. These seedlings are so much more valuable to regenerating forests than nursery seedlings because they bring with them other parts of the ecosystem like soil mycorrhizae, moss and earthworms.

Tea House/Meeting Room/Guest Room Hire —The delivery of these services will be dependent on the installation of a hosting venue, appropriate to the value of the forest. This venue could be made available to visitors to sample kawakawa tea and to support social, cultural, education and economic development in the Eastern Bays area.