We have a vision to restore the biodiversity of the Okura Bush shoreline and surrounds.

Kauri dieback, invasive weeds and pest animals threaten this area. Our mission is to engage the community in the control of predator mammals and invasive weeds, and to eventually restore the ecosystem. Department of Conservation (DOC), Auckland Council (AC), neighbours and the community - all working together - are critical to the success of this project.

The breach at high tide

Winter Update

Winter is definitely here even if we didn’t seem to have had a summer in Auckland. The effects of the frequent strong northeasterly blows can be seen everywhere with beach erosion and piles of debris washed high up the beaches. The Weiti chenier was particularly hard hit with a breach formed at the northern end of the lagoon, which has…

Raffle supporting FOOB

Want to cook smarter, not harder? Want to be a part of protecting rare coastal old-growth forest? Enter in the Friends of Okura Bush raffle to secure your chance to win a Thermomix! These cooking appliances give you freedom in the kitchen using step-by-step instructions to chop, blend, whip, weigh, mill, knead, mince, sear your way to becoming a kitchen…

Weiti 2023 dotterel youngster

Baby Bird Boom

What a summer! Despite the weather, this season has been a very successful one for both tuturiwhatu/NZ dotterel and tōrea pango/variable oystercatcher. Here’s a summary of successes and failures at each of the sites. Weiti chénier tōrea pango: One pair fledged two chicks tuturiwhatu: One pair fledged one chick Two other tuturiwhatu pairs nested on the chénier but the weather…

cat eating bird

Trapping Cats article by Pat Baskett

FIRST PUBLISHED at Newsroom on FEB 2, 2023 COMMENT by Pat Baskett, an Auckland writer and climate activist. We must protect what the cats drag in ‘Where once the Karepiro chenier hosted dotterel and oystercatcher nests there could soon be sandcastles, and how many cats?’ Pat Baskett looks at our ongoing contribution to the Sixth Extinction.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that there’s been a baby boom at Karepiro and the Okura chénier. I’ve been struck down with covid and it’s been over three weeks since I was able to check on progress, so I was delighted to see the new additions at both these sites. Two NZ dotterel/tuturiwhatu pairs have each raised a single chick on…

Bird Update

It was with some trepidation that I visited the coast yesterday (15/11) to see what damage the spring high tide and howling northeaster had done. The water had swept over the chénier at Stillwater, so any dotterel/tūturiwhatu or oystercatcher/tōrea pango nests would have been swept away. There are still two dotterel pairs and an oystercatcher pair in residence, so hopefully…

Skip to toolbar