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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT – 800 TRUST
Miranda Wells, her husband Daryl Egarr, an IT specialist, and her brother Bjorn Doherty, a computer scientist, bought a back country farm (known as the 800 block because it was initially 888 acres) at Tututawa about 10 years ago, intending to use it as a weekend hunting getaway.
When they discovered wild kiwi living there, their hobby morphed into a full-time conservation mission.
In recent years, Miranda has coordinated the planting of 100 000 native plants on the retired farmland. 800 Trust were awarded the Taranaki Regional Council, Action in Biodiversity Award in November 2023 for their extensive work on the land and innovative approach to restoration.
Using their collective expertise, they developed innovative technologies to target predators across the whenua that now spans 3700 acres.
By applying computer science to the art of predator trapping, Bjorn coded bespoke algorithms that detect pest animal movement captured by cameras stationed around the property.
There are seven wifi stations on the whenua that keep the cameras running in real time, this keeps the team a step ahead of the predators and increases the success of their trapping. Wifi stations double as shelters for workers, that have been well used by their Jobs for Nature funded full-time rangers, Ian and Coby Gavin.
800 Trust have developed bespoke predator control technology that significantly improves the success of their predator control across the 3700 acres
At the Omoana end of the land they successfully culled enough predators and fostered growth to create a safe, food-rich habitat for Kiwi. With support from Taranaki Kiwi Trust and Rotokare Scenic Reserve they released 11 mature Kiwi into the bush.
Alongside the trapping technology, 800 Trust has received funding from Toi Foundation to developed acoustic recording technology, Hark, that identifies bird song, helping to monitor and protect native species. By making the technology available on the commercial market they aim to reinvest the profits into the land. Find out more here https://www.hark.nz/
Wild for Taranaki work closely with Miranda from 800 Trust to problem solve and help find ways to keep the success of the project rolling.
