I’m watching the same kaka (and their children) feed from the apples that I’ve put out every morning on those nails I hammered into that manuka stump four years ago for those Auckland University guys to lure in the birds for their study. They never told me to stop feeding them, so for no greater reason than I enjoy the company, I’ve been doing it ever since.

But this morning there seems to be some greater purpose for doing this. This morning I’m not cutting the apples into increasingly thinner segments to make the bag last longer in case this is the last lot I’m ever going to buy for my regular morning congregation.

Today Glenfern Sanctuary is in public ownership…for perpetuity. Today I won’t be on the phone to councillors, members of parliament or representatives of funding bodies, reciting the same statistics over and over again. I won’t be updating what has now become an opus of a business plan, to convince the auditors and lawyers that, yes, this place will not only cover its own costs but perhaps even make you money if you just give us a chance.

For the first time since that fateful night we shuffled Tony Bouzaid onto the Westpac rescue chopper, I am thinking not of how to just stay open for another month, but actually about doing long-term, effective restoration work. It’s strange now to think of this as an afterthought – something so fundamental.

In saying that, I’m now looking at what we have achieved in the last four years despite this major uncertainty – it seems quite amazing to see how far we have come as a sanctuary.  Even though we weren’t to know from one moment to the next if we were going to be open in another month’s time, we dug in and got on with it anyway. 

As much as I tried to rein in my co-manager, she was relentless – “unless you are doing restoration work, this is not a sanctuary so you can’t pitch it as such”, she would say.

And restore she did (following the creation of a comprehensive restoration plan of course).

We now have a few thousand more trees in the ground, a now famously successful sustainability education program with Hillary Outdoors, a purpose-built pateke pond that has spawned over 52 graduates, an ever-expanding colony of Cook’s petrels and black petrels, a database of over 400 individual chevron skinks, a purpose-built rehabilitation aviary for sick, injured and orphaned birds, a world class geographic information system (GIS) to document it all, and as a result of all this, a thriving on-site accommodation business. 

The purchase of Glenfern is a starting point for a new era in conservation on Great Barrier Island and the Hauraki Gulf. 

All despite my continual pleas to “not start any more projects until we know what’s going to happen to the place”. But we do know what’s happening to the place now.  So it’s probably high time I filled you in. 

The land known as ‘Glenfern’, the block of 80 hectares on the south side of the Kotuku Peninsula and previously owned by the Bouzaid family, is now owned by Auckland Council. It was purchased using funds from the Council, the Nature Heritage Fund and Foundation North.

The land will be designated as a regional park but it’s going so much more than that. This deal was not simply an opportunity to secure a pond for a few lucky ducks, and a secure habitat for seabirds and some freakishly large lizards. The purchase of Glenfern is a starting point for a new era in conservation on Great Barrier Island and the Hauraki Gulf.

History of Glenfern under Bouzaid Ownership compiled by Scott Sambell

1994

• Built pateke (brown teal) pond.

• Built quad track along ridge line and into Glenfern gully.

• Established glasshouse/nurseries, began collecting/propagating seeds.

• Targeted feral cats, trapping 17.

1995

• Begun construction of large pateke pond.

• Continued boardwalk and bridge to kauri.

• Continued planting and propagation.

Overlooking Port FitzRoy from Glenfern Sanctuary.  Photo: Glenfern Sanctuary

1996

• Planted botanical walkway in the forest with native trees growing on the island.

• Continued Glenfern Gully tracks.

• Completed and signed-off bridge to kauri.

• Began planting 10,000 native trees.

1997

• Established additional nursery area.

• Continued restoration planting.

• Completed Glenfern Gully tracks.

1998

• Continued restoration planting.

• Video on damage by cats to native fauna.

1999

• Name plaques on trees in native gully and Glenfern Walk.

• Extended quad track to improve access for tree planting and restoration.

• Continued with feral cat control.

2000

• Completed handrails and boardwalk to specified engineering regulations.

• Extended/improved quad track to minimise erosion and improve access.

• Planted pateke ponds with native species.

• Established rodent bait stations along tracks and around houses.

• Discovered black petrel pair in tree along Glenfern Walk.

2001

• Installed 100m x 50m grid of rat bait stations, expanded to a network of 517 stations and cat traps over the peninsula from 2001 to 2004.

• Re-vegetated large pateke pond.

• Received the Environment Initiatives Award from the ARC and DOC for contribution to the environment and promoting conservation on private land.