It’s all about being a good ancestor
Published on 8 September, 2024
From the Momentum Waikato Annual Report 2023 - see full report in PDF.
The Predator Free Hauraki Coromandel Community Trust is carrying out a 286,000ha landscape-scale conservation programme, by supporting 100+ conservation and backyard trapping groups between Moehau and Te Aroha.
Trust Chief Executive Jude Hooson said they have a “very clear sense of what’s expected of us”.
“We’re here to bring additional conservation funding into the region, to increase the volunteer base, to provide resources and best practice advice on the ground, and to help with monitoring.”
“It is also about providing a regional perspective and voice on conservation, and amplifying what the local groups need to have heard by both stakeholders and the public,” said Jude.
Recognising that conservation efforts will be continuing for generations to come, the group realised early on that it needed a long-term vision around funding. Their Sustainable Finance Strategy aims to build a diverse and flexible range of income streams through to 2050.
A key element is ‘The Fund for Nature – Hauraki Coromandel’ established with Momentum Waikato in early 2023.
“We are very serious in our intention to reduce our dependence on grants,” said Jude.
“Our partnership with Momentum Waikato is about providing a way for people everywhere to leave a legacy that supports the conservation work of Hauraki and Coromandel communities.
“There are a lot of people who have been committed to conservation here for decades, and there are some leading conservation experts living locally, and they’re all concerned about who is going to continue to do the mahi.
“We’re not thinking small, we want to build a significant Fund for Nature.”
Trust Chair Peter Anderson, a former Chair of national supermarket firm Foodstuffs, said its board is diverse and high calibre, with a range of ages and professional backgrounds.
“What matters to everyone we talk to is tackling biodiversity loss, both for its own sake and because of its role in climate change, while seeing good governance, leadership and management in the response, all of which we provide,” said Peter.
“It is all about being a good ancestor and outliving your life.”
Find out more and donate at momentumwaikato.nz/fundfornaturehaurakicoromandel.
