Trade Me partners with Forest & Bird kiwi campaign

_4 June 2008 – Wellington

Forest & Bird media release for immediate use

Trade Me partners with Forest & Bird’s kiwi campaign

Starting tomorrow on World Environment Day (June 5), every person selling an item on Trade Me can donate a small part of their success fee to Forest &Bird’s Kiwis For Kiwi Campaign.

“Trade Me has had an increasing focus on environmental sustainability and our new partnership with Forest & Bird builds on this,” says Mike O’Donnell, Trade Me’s head of commercial.

Money raised in the Kiwis For Kiwi campaign will go to Forest & Bird projects that are ridding reserves of predators and planting native habitats so kiwi can be re-introduced. Forest & Bird has spearheaded kiwi sanctuaries in Northland, Coromandel, central North Island and Westland, and is working towards protected areas in other parts of New Zealand.

“Given that Kevin the Kiwi forms part of the Trade Me logo, it’s hard to think of a more apt sponsorship for us,” says Mr O’Donnell.

Forest & Bird is a grassroots conservation organisation, with 40,000 members in 50 branches. “Thousands of our members every year put in many hours in the bush eradicating introduced predators by checking traps and bait stations, and planting native plants to create safe habitats for kiwi,” says Forest & Bird general manager Mike Britton. “We are thrilled that Trade Me has chosen to support our work.”

Kiwi populations are in decline, with about 75,000 birds left. About 95 per cent of kiwi chicks are killed by introduced predators during their first year of life.

Trade Me has a growing commitment to the environment, with a new environment section on the website and the launch last September of New Zealand’s first public carbon trading marketplace, which allows people to invest in projects reducing emissions. In addition a new category will specifically target environmental sustainability.

To support Kiwis For Kiwi, when Trade Me sellers place a listing, they can choose to round their success fee up to the nearest dollar and donate the difference to help kiwi. All funds raised by the initiative will be distributed directly to Kiwis For Kiwi.

ENDS

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