Tracking tunnel monitoring team heading up towards the monitoring lines spread throughout the park

A tracking tunnel monitoring team heading up towards one of the many monitoring lines spread throughout the park.
Photo credit: PC.

If you love the great outdoors - and like the idea of 'Going for a walk in the bush on purpose' - then why not join our team?

We have a great number of interesting roles involving several conservation-related projects - many of which use high-tech equipment and contribute to ongoing scientific enquiry of nationally-important biodiversity and ecological research areas.

We provide comprehensive training for those who show aptitude and willingness to commit time and effort to learn and master key project requirements - plus offering plenty of opportunities for already-skilled individuals keen to strut their stuff to help us achieve our mission.

Candling a kiwi egg during an Operation Nest Egg raid on a burrow to extract eggs for incubation at a hatchery

Candling a kiwi egg during a nighttime 'Operation Nest Egg' raid on a burrow to extract eggs for incubation at a hatchery.

A walk along the Orongorongo Track is often a great auditory experience! Besides the bird-song, the sound of the many fast-flowing streams (like the Catchpool Stream depicted here) and of waterfalls nearby is both soothing and stimulating at the same time!

Still want to volunteer but haven’t found anything on the right that you can commit to?

The Trust also needs regular volunteers for the Catchpool Restoration Project. This forest restoration project aims to give Nature a helping hand to speed up the reforestation of the hillsides, wetlands, and stream banks with native plants and trees in order to quickly restore the original biodiversity of the area.

Each year, hundreds of corporate volunteers come to the Catchpool Valley to plant native trees, remove pest plants, maintain tracks, or carry out nursery work and a myriad of other conservation-related tasks, as part of their annual community service volunteer days. Numerous school groups do the same.

Corporate volunteers from ANZ Bank planting native trees during winter on the community volunteer day

Corporate volunteers from ANZ Bank planting native trees during winter on the community volunteer day. Photo credit: PC.

BP New Zealand employees with Trust volunteers on their community vounteer day outing at the Catchpool Restoration Project

BP New Zealand employees with Trust volunteers on their community vounteer day outing at the Catchpool Restoration Project. Photo credit: PC.

Other ways you can also help us are by becoming a member; joining our Trust committee; and/or becoming a sponsor.

Still don’t see anything that appeals at the moment? Please do check our website again soon, as new roles may become available.

Thank you for your interest; it is appreciated!

This kiwi wasn't wearing his gumboots. Look closely at this mud puddle and you will see some distinctive kiwi tracks. Photo credit:- Melody McLaughlin.

Warning sign showing that you are about to enter a protected kiwi zone

These Kiwi Zone signs appear along the Sunny Grove, Whakanui, McKerrow and Orongorongo Tracks in the Remutaka Forest Park.

Wanted!!

On these pages, you'll frequently find role descriptions for voluntary tasks that we're currently seeking to fill at The Remutaka Forest Park Trust.

Volunteer

If you are interested in contributing as a Volunteer, download this Volunteer Application form, complete it and send it back to us!

Volunteer AND become a member

Or perhaps you'd like to join us as an Individual, Family, School, or Corporate Member and contribute in other ways?

If so, please download our Membership Application Form here... (Microsoft Word document file 37.0kb)

Stoat & Rat Trappers and Kiwi Project volunteers

Right now we need additional volunteers for the Kiwi Project.

Roles include Acoustic monitors and trappers.

Trapping - Kiwi Project and Dawn Chorus

Clearing and re-setting traps along established trap-lines. Target pests are possums, hedgehogs, rats, ferrets, weasels and stoats.

Tasks include clearing, baiting and re-setting traps and minor maintenance. Volunteers need to be reasonably ‘bush’ savvy and moderately fit. (You may need to be prepared to go for a walk for up to 5-7 hours each time depending on the distance travelled to service each trap line. Some lines are more remote than others).

Traps are checked monthly in winter and fortnightly in summer.

A team of trappers is assigned to each trap line, so your rostered frequency depends on the number of volunteers enlisted and the season. (On average, this is currently about half a dozen trapping days per year per trapper).

Trappers need to be prepared to encounter - and remove - dead animals from the traps.

All volunteers will be provided with suitable training.

Preferred minimum time commitment: We would appreciate that you only volunteer if you can make a commitment to a period of 1 year or more; This is due to the time we need to invest in your training and the roster system we operate.

More trappers needed

The Kiwi project has hundreds of possum, stoat, ferret and rat traps - many of which are not of the self-setting type - so they need to be regularly checked, rebaited and re-set. They are on established trap lines ranging from a quick 30 minutes check duration to 3 to 7 hours long trap line walks, all based within the Remutaka Forest Park and along some adjacent boundaries in the neighbouring Wainuiomata Water Catchment.

Trap Servicing - Fixit Team

Would you like to be part of our Fixit Team? With an ever-expanding network of traps, we need more people for our Fixit Team. Team members need to be regularly available and able to travel to traps all across the trapping network to make minor repairs in the field.

Note: A high level of fitness is essential for this role, as is time to commit to occasional 6-9 hour tramping days.

Volunteers will be provided with some training, but you should already be comfortable using basic hand tools.

Busy scientist and RFPT volunteer, Ed Abraham deploys an acoustic monitoring device near our Listening Post C

Busy scientist and RFPT volunteer, Ed Abraham deploys an acoustic monitoring device near our Listening Post 'C'. Edward was also the Trap Line Leader for the remote and physically demanding Whakanui Stream Line. Photo credit: PC.

Volunteers need to be reasonably ‘bush’ savvy and moderately fit. Tracking involves using topographical maps, compasses, handheld GPS devices and tracking receiver equipment, all of which the Trust supplies.

Minimum time commitment:

We would appreciate that you only volunteer if you can make a commitment to a period of 1 year or more. This is due to the time we need to invest in your training and to accommodate our task assignment roster system and health and safety obligations.

Other

Do you have some other skill or expertise that you could offer volunteer time for to help us? e.g. are you a marketing whizz or a journalist or good at writing submissions for funding?

Please let us know in the Volunteer Application form if you feel you have a skill or competency that would be useful to us and you don’t mind volunteering your time and those skills to contribute.