Kāpiti Kiwi began in 2025 and deployed DOC 200 traps on about 20km of tracks in the Akatarawa Forest, catching mainly stoats with the odd rat.

Manned by volunteers who are passionate users of the forest alongside residents neighboring the forest entrance. There is much mahi to be done to control predator numbers so that Kiwi, and other native wildlife can thrive in Kāpiti.

Based in the Maungakotukutuku Valley, there are also traplines over more than 300ha of private farmland to support the initiative. The plan is to link up with Whareroa Guardians and provide a corridor for native birds to reach a safe space in the forest from Kāpiti Island.

With strong links to and support from the Capital Kiwi Project, we are able to learn from their experience. One significant advantage is we have a close working relationship with Greater Wellington Regional Council who have supplied more than 100 traps for this mahi, as well as training for volunteers.

Get involved

If you wish to be part of this work, we'd love to hear from you! We have plans to extend the trap lines and intensity, as well as developing a monitoring programme and need more volunteers to support this. So we'd love to have you register your interest.

Donations welcome

This work is all voluntary and additional funding will allow us to go faster and further to reach our goals.

Contact

Facebook: facebook.com/kapitikiwii

Email: Kapitikiwiinfo@gmail.com