Monitoring / The monitoring program provides an integrated knowledge platform to support the restoration of the ngahere.

Understanding what is happening in our ngahere is critical, but in the earliest phases of this project, monitoring was found to be severely limited in scope, scale and detail. It was out of date, with habitat information being more than thirty years old and not taking into account recent and large scale deer and possum impacts. It also lacked any foundation in mātauranga Māori. 

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As a result of these limitations, a provisional monitoring programme has been put in place to provide an integrated knowledge platform to support the restoration of the ngahere. This approach will integrate Māori world views, values, priorities and mātauranga Māori, as well as mainstream assumptions and approaches to conservation monitoring.

The aims are to:

• develop and grow new ways of monitoring that represent a Treaty-based, Tangata Whenua-Tauiwi relationship

• reflect international Indigenous knowledge best practice

• demonstrate the innovative, effective and productive potential for mātauranga Māori to work alongside conventional conservation science interactions and,

• provide information required for planning, operations and the review of the project.

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The monitoring programme will focus on the three key areas of research and collaboration:

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1. Training and learning

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Working alongside partners such as DOC, the monitoring team will facilitate mutual learning and training opportunities. An induction course will be developed for all staff, contractors, visitors and partners who visit the Raukūmara Pae Maunga project. Deer culling teams will also receive training and support to become “forest observers” as they observe and report indigenous flora and fauna and complete their operational work.

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2. Monitoring sites 

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The monitoring team will establish a network of monitoring sites to represent different bioclimatic zones, forest types and river catchments. Into the future it is envisaged that additional monitoring sites will be established to assess seasonal pest population cycles (rats and stoats), to record pest control results and measure the level of forest and threatened species recovery.

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3. Communicating the indigenous biocultural recovery story

Online media will be utilised to provide rapid and accessible updates from monitoring activities. Engaging and varied communication materials will help tell the story of the recovery of te Raukūmara.