Upper Coromandel branch, Branch Award recipients 2025. Image supplied
Forest & Bird has honoured Upper Coromandel with its branch award for its exceptional advocacy for nature and hands-on environmental protection and restoration work.
Upper Coromandel branch co-chairs Kate James (left) and Dr Kate Donoghue (right). Image supplied
“We’re standing on the shoulders of those who came before us and we’re passionate about conservation. We feel those people strongly in the mahi that we do,” says Upper Coromandel branch co-chair Kate Donoghue.
“We are grateful to both past and present committee members. There is a strong legacy of environmental protection in our area and we're building on that. We have greatly benefitted from the knowledge and wisdom of those who came before us.”
The branch has four environmental restoration projects, involving planting, trapping, and weed control, but much of its focus is on advocacy, says co-chair Dr Kate James.
The branch works with other environmental groups, and lobbies councils and politicians to promote conservation and oppose inappropriate developments.
“We work really hard to produce and present submissions advocating for local, regional, and national environmental protection,” she says.
The branch aims to get Forest & Bird’s views incorporated in council planning and ensure biodiversity is at the forefront of local policies.
Kate Donoghue says the branch has great relationships with the local community, local and regional councils, the local mayor, and they meet regularly with their local MP.
“We're also working with the local business association which is a worthwhile collaboration and helps to mainstream conservation in our community.”
The branch spends hundreds of hours each year meeting with other local conservation groups, iwi, and schools, encouraging collaboration and advocating for the local environment.
The branch has environmental restoration projects on council reserves at Long Bay Kauri Grove and Esplanade, Waitete Kauri Grove, and Torehina Bay.
They also coordinate predator control at MacGregor Bay’s saltmarsh. “These projects are a great way to promote practical conservation in our community,” says Kate James.
The co-chairs say they work well together and have complementary skills and experience. Kate Donoghue has an education background and years of experience in fighting harmful mining proposals. Kate James, an environmental scientist, has years of experience in conservation advocacy and sourcing funding for conservation projects.
Both are also proud of their family connections to conservation. Kate Donoghue’s late husband, Mike Donoghue, was a marine scientist who played a key role in New Zealand’s efforts to end commercial whaling globally. Kate James’ grandmother Dorothy James was an active member of the Upper Coromandel Forest & Bird branch.
Since the pair joined forces, they have applied for and obtained over $1 million in funds for Coromandel conservation efforts, including over $800,000 in Jobs for Nature funding.
“We’ve taken on a lot, but we can’t stop – it’s all hands on deck,” says Kate Donoghue.