Tū Mai Taonga
Our Purpose
Tū Mai Taonga is a Māori-led conservation project on Aotea (Great Barrier Island). It is unique in its indigenous Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea-led approach — underpinned by Te Ao Māori principles that connect people and place.
The project involves removing rodents and undertaking one of the world’s largest-ever feral cat eradications on an inhabited island. It forms part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s wider goal to become Predator Free by 2050.
Tū Mai Taonga not only gives the people of Aotea the opportunity to return home and restore the island through science and tikanga-based (traditional) conservation - it also uplifts and empowers its whānau to reclaim what has been lost: language, culture, economic sustainability, and the health of the environment.
By expanding its mātauranga (Māori knowledge) and working together to restore these treasures, the project sets a course for generational change for its mokopuna (grandchildren). Ultimately, Tū Mai Taonga strives toward its end goal - a future where both people and place thrive.
Tū Mai Taonga - Year in Review
View the latest update and news from the Tū Mai Taonga Project
“After rats were removed from Rangiāhua in 2008 two pairs of kākāriki, the red crowned parakeet came back, and red-billed gulls started to nest around the southern end of the island. But the rats have returned and the kākāriki have moved on. I’d like to see predators off the whole island, not just knocked down. Then native species will flourish.”
