The Waiheke Land Care and Pest Management Trust was established as a registered Charitable Trust in September 2003, with the objective of protecting native birdlife on Waiheke Island through effective predator control. In line with our mission to safeguard these species, we operate under the trading name Birdsafe.​

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Our board of trustees brings together extensive experience in conservation and environmental management:

• Phil Tarr operates Waiheke Pest Services and has played a leading role as a Dotterel Guardian on the island for many years.

• Alex Dick

• Helen Fuller joined the trust, bringing years of hands-on experience in pest management and conservation on Waiheke, with a particular passion for protecting little blue penguins (kororā).

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History.

 

Birdsafe was founded by Mike Lee, Julia Meek, and Tony Agar in 2003. Their early work centred on the formation of the Waiheke Dotterel Guardians, focused on safeguarding the critically endangered New Zealand dotterel — a native shorebird whose population had declined to just 1,700 due to habitat loss, breeding disturbances, and predation by introduced mammals.

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As Julia Meek records in the history of the Dotterel Guardians and Birdsafe:

“It eventually became clear that pest control limited to beach areas during the breeding season was not enough. Predator control needed to extend into the surrounding hinterland throughout the year — otherwise pests would be poised to strike as soon as breeding birds produced their young. That realisation led to the establishment of our sister organisation, the Waiheke Land Care and Pest Management Trust, now better known as Birdsafe.”

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A key initiative has been the provision of affordable rat bait and bait stations to the local community — often at prices significantly lower than retail. Twenty years on, we remain committed to this service, alongside our broader conservation work to protect Waiheke’s precious native birdlife.

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