Korehāhā Whakahau

He rākau morimori, e kore e taea te piki – You cannot climb a bare tree.

In years gone by Pōhutukawa forests flourished along our coastline – a clear sign that the whenua was healthy! Over the years, however, the impact of humans has increased and the Pōhutukawa are no longer so numerous, nor so flourishing. A clear sign that our lands are sick and under pressure.

We all know that we must do something. We see it. We feel it. We know it.

So here at Korehāhā Whakahau, our goal is to eradicate possums from our project area as a way of restoring and enhancing the taiao. But why possums?

Introduced into Aotearoa in 1837, possums were released in attempt to develop a fur industry in the country. Up until 1922, more than 30 batches were imported, and these possums and their descendants were liberated at about 464 places.

Ongoing liberations through private individuals and acclimatisation societies continued to boost numbers and even when it became illegal to bring in possums, trappers continued to do so until the 1980s. Possums adapted well to the fertile Aotearoa habitat and their natural rapid breeding rate meant the impact on our taiao was immense.Additionally, the fact that possums can act as carriers of bovine tuberculosis places our country’s agriculture industry at risk.

Over the past 40 or so years, community groups and Government departments have worked to knock down the numbers but eradication was never considered to be a possibility - until now! Advancement in technology and understanding is now at at point that we, here at Korehāhā Whakahau, believe that we can achieve eradication in our project area by 2025. And, we don’t even need to use toxins.