Media release

October 2013

Charity Art Sale

Phil Waddington – Lorenzo

The Rimutaka Forest park are celebrating their 25th anniversary in style this year, thanks to generous donations from two local artists and a private donor. Artists Phil Waddington and Janet Andrews are showing their support for the conservation organisation by each donating original art works to the trust for sale.

Janet Andrews has kindly donated a watercolour 'tea in the bush' from her acclaimed 'Wild Things' exhibition. Janet is moved by the beauty of her local wildlife and is thrilled that 50% of the sale price will go towards directly helping the endangered wildlife in her own backyard.

Phil Waddington is an old friend to the Trust since he designed the DOC series of predator traps. His lifelong passion for conservation lead him to develop this revolutionary trap, in conjunction with DOC. All the early trap trials were carried out in the Rimutaka Forest Park and many of the early prototypes are still there. The community trapping effort reduced the stoat numbers to such that kiwi could be released there – leading to the now thriving population of over 80 birds. Through this work Phil was invited to carry one of the first released kiwi into the Forest Park. His idea of donating wildlife pictures to the Trust has finally come to fruitition with a stunning portrait of 'Lorenzo', the heavy bundle he carried in. Phil has also donated two one-off prints, which have been re-worked, both telling the conservation story he is passionate about.

In additon, a private donor has gifted an original oil painting by internationally acclaimed NZ artist Jeanette Blackburn. This was originally bought in the 1980's and comes with full documentation.

The Trust are extremely grateful for all these donations and are delighted to be able to offer them for sale. They will all be on display at the 25th anniversary dinner, being held on 12th October at Hoopers Bar and Cafe, on Petone Esplanade. Tickets can be purchased from Tickets: $65 each, and can be ordered online at https://rfpt25dinner.eventbrite.co.nz or by calling 04 569 4764. Anyone wishing to see the paintings can arrange for a private viewing by calling 04 569 4764 or emailing info@rimutakatrust.org.nz. All the proceeds (excepting artists costs) will go directly to the Rimutaka Forest Park Trust to aid the conservation work that they do – for more details see their website – www.rimutakatrust.org.nz.

Background info:

The Rimutaka Forest Park Trust

Rimutaka Forest Park Charitable Trust is a non-profit organisation committed to protecting and restoring the unique flora and fauna of the Rimutaka Forest Park located east of Wainuiomata, near Wellington, New Zealand.
We believe that the Trust, in partnership with the local community and Tangata Whenua - and with support from the Department of Conservation (DoC), local bodies and a myriad of interested groups - can succeed in restoring a self-sustaining natural biodiversity where indigenous flora and fauna will flourish and allow visitors to the park unlimited access to the precious Taonga o Ngahere o Aotearoa.
Our Vision...
"A natural and rich forest park environment for the enjoyment of the wider community"
Our Mission...
“To protect and restore the natural vegetation and wildlife of the Rimutaka Forest Park and to promote community understanding and appreciation of the Park”

We are running three main projects:

Kiwi Project

The Rimutaka Forest Park Trust Kiwi Project has certainly captivated the hearts and minds of a very broad cross section of our local community, schools and iwi! The project has been operating since 2003, when 10 birds were released into the park. The initial goal was to move a group of North Island Brown kiwi from captivity in other locations nationwide to a 1000 hectare, predator-controlled site in the Park to establish a viable, self-sustaining Kiwi population. We are well on the way to achieving that goal with second generation birds being born and an increasing population of over 80 birds.

Over 65 volunteers help with this project including monitoring the kiwi and carrying out the vital predator control work over difficult terrain.

We are the only group to introduce kiwi into the wild, with an entirely volunteer work force.

Restore the Dawn Chorus
The Dawn Chorus Project is now in its 10th year with a small but dedicated team of volunteers working trap lines within the Catchpool and surrounding areas. Over this period more than  2,000 possums and 1,200 rats have been removed from the area, but with constant re-invasion taking place, the need to trap is ongoing.

The aim of the Dawn Chorus project is to reduce the level of all predators and pest animals within the Catchpool valley to allow native bird and plant life to thrive once again.

The efforts of the trapping team is clearly evident with a big increase in native birds and the return of some species thought to be lost from the area.

Catchpool Restoration Project

When the pine forests planted on the hills surrounding the lower Catchpool Valley were clear-felled recently, many local residents felt that the resulting denuded hills and gullies were an eyesore. Actually, more damage was done by the "weather-bomb" and floods that devastated the area in March, 2005.

This project aims to give Nature a helping hand to speed up the reforestation of the hillsides with native plants and trees in order to quickly restore the original biodiversity of the area and to provide a healthy habitat for indigenous species of birds, lizards, amphibians, fish and invertebrates.

Our strategy will be to plant large numbers of up to 15 different & desired eco-sourced plant species in the gullies and other sheltered areas to give them a head-start over natural regeneration processes.

Since its inception thousands of native plants have been planted in the Catchpool Valley, and hundreds of people have helped through corporate volunteer sessions.

Phillip Waddington:

Phillip is a full-time artist that has been connected to the Rimutaka Forest Park for approximately 40 years, initially taking his inspiration from th the Orongorongo valley scenery. His passion for both art and conservation began as a youngster, catching possums with his hand-built cages. By age 10, he was selling picturesto school friends and later went on to sell his art though the Hutt Art Society and NZ Academy of Fine Arts. He brings these interests together to draw attention to the plight of native species and has enhanced their survival rate through his work.

His concern for the dwindling population of kiwi and other native species motivated his creative mind to develop a unique and revolutionary predator trap. The trap is now widely used throughout New Zealand and internationally. The trap, gifted to New Zealand has made significant contributions towards saving native wildlife and brought together community groups, working tirelessly to restore native flora and fauna. This trap has revolutionised conservation throughout New Zealand, helping to create island reserves and allowing the recovery of the critically endangered Mohua (Yellowhead) in Eglington Valley and removing stoats from Resolution island, 100 years after famed conservationist Richard Henry left.

Wellingtonians may remember a Life-size Whales tail that appeared in Wellington Harbour. This floating sculpture caused a stir in the community and showed Phillip's concern for the endangered humpback whale being added to the japanese catch list.

Phillip has worked doggedly to preserve an area of Stokes Valley bushland, placing a QEII Trust Covenant on it, creating the Horoeka Street Reserve and ensuring it can remain a unique wetland area.

Phillip firmly believes that New Zealand is changing and the community groups are taking over. He believes that he would have seen extinctions happening in our lifetime, without the work of community groups and people like himself, and that the work we do now is critical to turning the tide and saving our endangered wildlife.

Anniversary dinner

Will be held at Hoopers Bar and Cafe, from 6.30pm. Ruud Kleinpaste is the after dinner speaker, and Nicky Wagner, parliamentary private secretary for conservation will also be speaking.

Tickets are $65 and available for purchase from https://rfpt25dinner.eventbrite.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media