Forest & Bird turns 100 this year and we are celebrating with a bumper autumn issue with eight extra pages of nature news and features. In this issue, we look back at the first 25 years of our conservation mahi and profile the highs and lows of its founder Captain Ernest “Val” Sanderson. In 1947, the society was awarded the prestigious Loder Cup in perpetual memory of Sanderson, who worked tirelessly for 22 years to protect and restore the “birds and bush” all over Aotearoa New Zealand.
In our cover story Back in Black, we look at how three generations of conservationists worked to save karure | kakaruia, the Chatham Island black robin from extinction. The story of its demise and ultimate redemption made conservation history and Forest & Bird played a key role, including helping to buy and restore an island to provide a safe habitat for the last five birds. We talk to scientists who recently visited Rēkohu to carry out the first translocation of the species in 20 years.
Dr Bruce Burns takes us on a journey through our southern kaurilands in a fascinating article about the ecology and history of kauri in the Waikato region. As most of the forest is free from kauri dieback disease, it’s vitally important to look after these southern forests to make sure they don’t succumb to the disease having a huge impact on their northern cousins.
Also in this issue: bat recovery, wetland restoration, saving the last two Wakanui Craspedia, forestry slash, right to repair, give a trap, seashore treasures, falcon family, plague skinks, the degrowth revolution, radical connections, and why we need to show more love for our native cockroaches!
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