Graeme Helleur

Graeme sees the plateau along the top of the mountain as a natural native forest corridor between two national parks. Since 1984, he has acknowledged the existence of this beautiful natural asset and recognized his responsibility to promote its biodiversity as kaitiaki.

Graeme sees Tākaka Hill as a patchwork of retired bush blocks regenerating or reclothing Papatuanuku with her beautiful green forest cloak. The old stories tell of being ‘Tamariki o te Tane’, all children of the forest god, Tane Mahuta. Graeme’s love for the land led to a bigger vision of improving the land by regenerating the lost forest and trapping pests and predators as part of his role as Kaitiaki.

About 15 years ago, Graeme purchased traps and a battle hammer to catch possums, showing a determined effort to decrease their numbers during the cold winter. He realized the effectiveness of his efforts when the possum population collapsed due to DOC aerial control in the national parks, leading to a decrease in possum numbers in the forest corridor.

Over the years, Graeme has transplanted red beech seedlings into the Kanuka forest to encourage faster regeneration. This transplantation method has proven successful, with some trees reaching 10 to 15 metres.

A meeting in 2018 to discuss forming a community biodiversity group brought together neighbours to work on pest eradication. This collaboration has been successful, with funding for stoat traps enabling the Trust to afford hundreds of traps, lowering stoat numbers and increasing bird populations. Together, the Trust has found a way to restore the green cloak of Papatuanuku and fill it with bird song.