Te Araroa Whakahou sets out a philosophy and direction for Te Araroa to become a regenerative trail. Over the past year, Te Araroa Trust has integrated Whakahou into its strategy, defining Te Araroa as a ‘journey of regeneration and connection to te taiao.’
This nature-first philosophy aligns Te Araroa with international examples in trail management, where trails are viewed as conservation corridors rather than just pathways. It reflects our commitment to biodiversity, strengthens relationships with tangata whenua, and fosters community connection and stewardship.
Whakahou is now a programme encompassing a range of projects focussed on achieving environmental, social and wellbeing outcomes. With the programme completing its first year, this report provides an overview of the work undertaken and the plan ahead.
Contents
- Whakahou strategy
- Resourcing and funding
- Whakahou Nature Fund
- Tangata whenua engagement
- Story panels project
- Educating our community
- Research
- Sustainable trail management advocacy
- Native planting
- Invasive species control
- Predator control
- Biodiversity monitoring
Report summary
Eight Whakahou workstreams have been initiated over the past year, supported by four enabling workstreams. We expect these twelve workstreams to be enduring, with new projects likely to be added over time. These projects/workstreams are at various stages, from initial planning through to implementation.
The first year of the programme has focussed on:
- Articulating clear outcomes and measures and gaining stakeholder input
- Building relationships with mana whenua and conservation organisations and launching the story panels project
- Establishing the Whakahou Nature Fund
- Trialling volunteer days and setting up pilot projects
Our whanau journey has been one of collaboration, partnership, and shared stewardship.
Whakahou programme
Enabling workstreams
| 1. Strategy | Integrating Whakahou throughout our strategy and outlining clear outcomes and measures. |
| 2. Resourcing and Funding | Ensuring the Whakahou work programme is sustainably resourced. |
| 3. Whakahou Nature Partnerships (Fund) | Funds raised from Te Araroa walker and supporter registrations, and partners, are donated to projects along the trail corridor, that support mana whenua aspirations and increase biodiversity. |
| 4. Tangata Whenua Engagement | Establishing and strengthening relationships with mana whenua throughout the country. |
Workstreams
| 5. Story Panels Project | Developing story panels along the trail, in partnership with mana whenua and local communities, to educate people about the areas’ significance and inspire them to care for Te Taiao. |
| 6. Educating our Community | Educating walkers and supporters about ways to reduce their environmental impact (Leave No Trace), the key environmental issues facing Aotearoa and ways they can help. |
| 7. Research | Carrying out research to understand the social, environmental, wellbeing and economic benefits/impacts of Te Araroa. |
| 8. Sustainable Trail Management Advocacy | Integrating sustainable trail management principles into trail maintenance & development and influencing DOC and other partners to do the same. |
| 9. Native Planting | Engaging Te Araroa community about invasive plant removal (e.g. wilding pines) and raising awareness amongst the Te Araroa community about invasive plants and how to remove them. |
| 10. Invasive Species Control | Engaging Te Araroa community in predator control (e.g. trapping) and raising awareness about the invasive predator problem. |
| 11. Predator Control | Engaging Te Araroa community about invasive plant removal (e.g. wilding pines) and raising awareness amongst Te Araroa community about invasive plants and how to remove them. |
| 12. Biodiversity Monitoring | Encouraging and supporting walkers to record observations of invasive and rare species to support local conservation efforts. |
Year 1 Progress Report — November 2023 to November 2024
This report provides an overview of the work undertaken to date across twelve workstreams
1. Whakahou strategy
In Year 1, the focus has been defining what Whakahou and ‘regeneration’ mean for Te Araroa. A key step was developing an Intervention Logic Model (ILM) to clarify our desired outcomes and measure progress. As a living document, the ILM will continue to evolve. Whakahou is also integrated into our 2024-2026 Strategy, ensuring a regenerative approach across all our activities.
2. Resourcing and funding
The Whakahou Work Programme is led by the Partnerships & Project Manager, with support from seven Whakahou Advisors. Increasing fundraising to support the Programme will be a priority over the coming year.
3. Whakahou Nature Fund
We introduced a walker registration system in the 2023-24 walking season. $10 from each registration went to the Whakahou Nature Fund, raising $12,000.
The fund aims to achieve both social and environmental outcomes, including:
- Supporting mana whenua aspirations along Te Araroa
- Increasing biodiversity
- Reducing invasive species
- Engaging walkers and communities in regenerative activities
In partnership with Trees That Count, we donated $12,000 to the Bluff Hill/Motupohue Trust (BHMET) in 2022-23 to plant 12,000 trees and hosted a volunteer tree-planting day. For the 2024-25 season, we are partnering with Ngāti Kuia and Forest & Bird in Te Hoiere, Pelorus Bridge, to protect one of the last remaining populations of Peka Peka (long-tailed bats) in the Top of the South by supporting their trapping programme and engaging walkers in habitat restoration efforts along the trail. We expect the fund to grow as registrations and supporter membership increases.
4. Tangata whenua engagement
Tangata whenua engagement has been a priority over the past year. Our Whakahou approach has been well received and led to many positive relationships and partnerships. We have developed a Relationship Strategy with the support of our two Māori Advisors, Darren Rewi and Doug Macredie and have focused on building our capability to engage with mana whenua. To date, we hold relationships with 22 mana whenua groups, with over half progressing towards positive partnerships.
5. Story panels project
We received funding from NZCT and DOC to develop 52 story panels across the country, aimed at increasing walkers’ understanding of the cultural significance of the places they walk through and inspiring them to care for te taiao. This project is well underway, with 20 40 panels committed throughout the country in partnership with mana whenua and local conservation groups.
6. Educating our community
We launched a new website in June 2024 to improve walkers’ access to information and better communicate our message. The site includes an Our Regenerative Trail page outlining our approach, a Trail Environment page educating walkers on key environmental issues, and an updated Trail Pledge reflecting Whakahou.
We’ve also boosted email engagement with registered walkers, focusing on sharing ways they can care for the environment during their journey.
Volunteer Tiaki Rangers are also out on the trail for the first time this season, meeting and greeting walkers and ting walkers and educating them about Leave No Trace.
7. Research
Te Araroa Research Advisor, Dr Matthew Jenkins (Matt) from Otago University is leading a qualitative research project in partnership with Jeff Dalley, Principal Advisor, Social Monitoring & Evaluation at DOC. Initial interviews with 30 walkers have explored their motivations, experiences, and perspectives. Further interviews will be completed at the middle, end and 6 months after completing the trail. The study aims to assess the short and long-term wellbeing outcomes of walking Te Araroa, the impact of walking on attitudes toward kaitiakitanga (environmental stewardship), and provide insights into walker motivations and behaviours.
8. Sustainable trail management advocacy
We are committed to embedding sustainable trail management principles in the construction and maintenance of Te Araroa. Key principles have been defined with the support of our Sustainable Trail Management Advisor, Trevor Butler. Over the coming year, we will do more work to support the implementation of these principles in practice. As we learn, we will advocate for this approach with our wider partners, such as DOC.
9. Native planting
We identified the opportunity to integrate tree planting into sustainable trail maintenance. Over time, trees reduce weeds, provide shade for walkers, and minimize the need for spraying.
In September 2024, our Te Araroa Northland Trust led a tree-planting day at Puketi Forest Campsite. With 30 volunteers, they planted 780 trees. Recycled buckets from Predator Free Russell were left to catch rainwater, and walkers were encouraged to water the trees during their journey. We will continue promoting innovative, sustainable trail maintenance approaches in the coming year.
10. Invasive species control
We partnered with Wilding Free Mackenzie to co-host a wilding pine removal volunteer day in February 2024, which we will be repeating in February 2025.
Off the back of this we have connected with Whakatipu Wilding Pine Control Group and Arrowtown Choppers and hope to organise volunteer opportunities in the Whakatipu area in future seasons.
We have also launched a pilot project in partnership with Wilding Free Mackenzie, enabling walkers to cut wilding pines along the trail by collecting saws from boxes on the trail.
We will also launch a pilot with Ngāti Kuia to engage walkers in removing invasive plants, such as broom, at Te Hoiere, Pelorus Bridge. With invasive species widespread across Aotearoa, there’s a real opportunity to engage walkers in this kind of work.
11. Predator control
Thanks to data captured by Colin Miskelly as part of his ‘Every Last Bird of Te Araroa’ project, we are now able to understand the prevalence of trapping along Te Araroa via an interactive map. Colin’s project identified the presence of traps along approximately 14% of the trail, providing us with useful baseline data.
There’s interest among some walkers in supporting predator control, as shown by a Facebook post encouraging walkers to carry mouse traps, which garnered over 700 likes.
This year, we focused on the feasibility of engaging walkers in trapping, and identified several barriers:
- Trapping is most effective in grid formations, so a single line of traps along the trail would likely have minimal impact.
- Practical training is needed to handle traps safely, which is time-consuming and unlikely to benefit local trapping groups, given the short time walkers spend in any area.
- Most trapping is done by small volunteer groups who lack the resources to train walkers.
- DOC’s strict rules on trapping on Public Conservation Land (PCL), which makes up 60% of Te Araroa, prevent walker involvement.
- The most effective predator control methods—self-resetting traps and aerial poison (e.g., 1080)—cannot involve walkers.
Our findings suggest that the most effective way to increase trapping along the trail is to support existing trapping groups operating near the trail to expand their grids to include traps on Te Araroa. However, with thousands of trapping groups and limited capacity, building and maintaining these relationships will be challenging.
We’ve begun engaging with the Forest Bridge Trust and Restore Rodney East, two organisations centralising trapping efforts in the Auckland region, and will continue to explore opportunities to support their work in the year ahead.
12. Biodiversity monitoring
This year, we launched a Te Araroa project on iNaturalist, a free app that allows people to record observations, identify species, and contribute to global citizen science projects. Our project provides visibility into the species observed within 1km of the trail. Walkers are encouraged to download iNaturalist and record their observations when they register.
Through discussions with Auckland Council’s Biodiversity Team, Restore Rodney East, and Forest Bridge Trust, we’ve learned that walkers can play a valuable role in biodiversity monitoring. By recording sightings of rare or invasive species, walkers can provide crucial data for conservation efforts. We will continue collaborating with these groups in the coming year to highlight specific species for walkers to focus on in our communications.
Conclusion
Te Araroa Whakahou has made great strides in its first year, developing from an idea to an Intervention Logic Model, strategy, and programme of work. Additional resourcing will support the programme’s growth and development over the coming year.
We expect the twelve overarching workstreams (described on p.2) to be enduring, with new pilots and projects initiated within each stream as opportunities are identified.
Our Whakahou journey has been and will continue to be one of collaboration, partnership, and shared stewardship.