Affectionately known as "Philiene" - a legendary volunteer duo who are always ready to lend a hand.

You’ll often find them checking traps or pulling weeds along the coast.

For Phil and Jilliene, it's simply common sense. They're already there, so why not leave the place a little better than they found it?

Across the Whāingaroa Raglan landscape, more than 4,500 predator traps and 1,500 bait stations help protect our native wildlife. It's a huge network, and it simply wouldn't be possible without the incredible volunteers who give their time to care for it. One of those volunteers is Becks.

Meet Shelley, one of the Karioi Project's dedicated seabird volunteers. What began as a love of birds soon became a passion for predator control, helping protect vulnerable ōi and kororā and giving more chicks the chance to fledge successfully.

Blue skies, spectacular views, dedicated volunteers and local students learning in the field – it was one of those unforgettable days that reminded us conservation is powered by community. Here’s a look back at a day of practical action, learning and connection at the Karioi Project.

Fraser High School's Level 3 Agriculture students swapped the classroom for Karioi maunga, gaining hands-on conservation experience while working towards NCEA credits and helping protect native wildlife.

By the time most teenagers are finishing breakfast on a Saturday morning, Hinepehia Lee-Hohaia will already be deep in the Karioi bush, doing the kind of work most people never see. Read more about her Trap-a-thon.

Over the past five years, we’ve built a network of bait stations across Karioi to protect our forest birds - and it’s working. Rat and possum numbers in some areas are now below 5%, and each year we’re expanding that protection across the maunga.

Now we need your help to keep it going.

The Rugged Rogaine Series is a fun way to explore the beautiful maunga, experience an adventure sport, practice map reading and navigation, and improve your fitness. Run, jog, or walk.

It can be a fun adventure or a competitive challenge and race!

Local Rangitahi volunteers are making a real dent in pest numbers across the peninsula.

Predator traps might be small and easy to miss along the walkways, but together they’re having a big impact.

Over recent months we’ve confirmed pekapeka-tou-roa (long-tailed bats) on a bunch of properties around the Karioi landscape. These tiny native bats hunt insects at night above streams and sheltering bush and are rarely seen.

Seventeen years ago, we started with just a dozen volunteers. Some gave a few hours. Others, a full day each week, fortnight, or month. Some are still volunteering today!

On Karioi, a simple bright pink triangle is nailed to a tree. It’s small, lightweight, and unremarkable - just a code written in black marker, there to guide volunteers along the track so they don’t get lost. On its own, it doesn’t look like much. But like many of the numbers we work with, it quietly tells a much bigger story.

Somewhere along the way, between scraped knees, salty hair, and the curiosity that never quite left us, we became conservationists. The same is happening today with the next generation of kaitiaki.

When Graeme first set foot on this rugged coastline in 1984, seabirds were still a mystery in many ways. He was young, endlessly curious - a nature kid turned biologist, who’d once sketched garden birds for a school assignment and collected Greg’s jelly bird cards.

Many of us grew up watching “Tom and Jerry” - the endless chase between a determined cat and a cunning mouse. No matter how many clever traps Tom set, Jerry always seemed one step ahead. In real life, it’s not quite as funny.

“Even after those days of arduous work, I couldn’t wait to get back to those beautiful forests and idyllic shores” writes Siddhartha Gurung. And so he did! Sid came back for a week-long internship this spring, and shares his thoughts.

Melanie Carroll’s first volunteer day on Karioi felt more like a gift than a job—peaceful bush, seabird stories, and inspiring company. “It was like forest bathing, with purpose,” she smiled.

Armed with secateurs, sausage rolls, and a stubborn sense of purpose, the Kareao Cutters are carving tracks through the bush - one tangled liana at a time. It’s conservation with grit, laughter, and legs sculpted by Supplejack.

Growing up in Whāingaroa, Lenny Reynolds joined the inaugural Karioi Rangers programme, sparking a lifelong passion for conservation. His journey evolved through hands-on fieldwork, mentoring, and study—shaped profoundly by the Karioi Project’s influence.

For many locals, the idea of bats flitting through their backyards at night seemed far-fetched, but long-tailed bats (pekapeka-tou-roa) have been detected, proving that these secretive, endangered mammals are still clinging on in our region.