Eastern Whio Link
Charitable Trust
Eastern Whio Link Charitable Trust korero
Established in 2020, we are a group made up of hunters, fishers, farmers and manawhenua.
Our aim is to establish an interconnected Whio population from Te Urewera to the East Cape.
We have successfully fledged over 146 Whio Chicks, now have over 1,000 traps and work with over 100 active volunteers.
Historical Milestones and Events
Group Established 2020
Supporters / Sponsors
Origins Foundation, Simply Pure, Department of Conservation, Haines Hunter Taupo
News / Media
Eastern Whio online online
Leading from the Land - Project Grant
Project Outline
Support to deliver Rural First Aid training and Tāne Wānanga workshops focusing on biodiversity, rural wellbeing, mental health, and sustainable land use.
Aims
• Build resilience in remote rural communities through First Aid and Tāne Wānanga programmes.
• Enhance biodiversity protection and wellbeing outcomes for volunteers and landowners.
• Foster intergenerational learning and reconnection with te taiao.
Outcomes
First Aid Weekend
The Team from Eastern Whio Link hosted a 2-Day Outdoor First Aid course with Annette from Peak Safety at Journey’s End Station on the 16th and 17th of May. This first aid course gave the participants confidence to manage complex outdoor emergencies, covering topics such as basic life support, how to manage first aid in an emergency situation, and how to assess and manage an emergency care situation during an outdoor recreation activity. All essential skills for their team who work in challenging terrain maintaining trap networks and monitoring whio.
Tane Weekend - Group reflections
The first Tane weekend was truly groundbreaking for the project. Focusing the whakaro of the weekend around the impacts of deer both in the bush and on farm and having Stu, our farmer yarn through the work they have been doing, fencing, trapping, running a deer tourism operation and the impact deer were having pre and post fencing was eye opening for our community of hunters. It is really anchored in the role of hunters and deer control.
The conversations were held while we worked on workshopping home butchery skills such as breaking down animals, mincing, using a band saw and presenting meat in a well packaged way. Our attendees had a wide range of experience from those that had never seen a carcass before to seasoned hunters yet everyone learned something and improved their skill levels by being taught by our experienced butcher Jordy.
Those same conversations were navigated as we leather crafted with attendees making knife sheaths, belts, hunting and ammunition pouches, rifle cases and axe sheaths. This was a real highlight of the weekend.
In addition we ran trapping workshops that gave our new volunteers the skills they will need to actively be involved in the project moving forward, saw Whio and forged relationships.
Fostering the collective well-being of Tairāwhiti Catchments
