Waiheke Lands New Environmental Jobs
Employment on Waiheke Island is set to rise with the creation of seven new jobs, when Te Korowai o Waiheke was named a recipient of the Predator Free 2050 Ltd Jobs for Nature funding.
Te Korowai o Waiheke is a charitable trust established by the local community to eradicate predators from our beautiful island. A stoat eradication is currently underway across the island. The next part of the programme is a rat eradication pilot, stage one of the rat eradication project.
“We are so excited by the opportunity these new roles provide for both employment on Waiheke Island and benefits to our native wildlife.” says Mary Frankham, Te Korowai o Waiheke Project Director.
A lack of international visitors to Waiheke Island has had a significant impact on tourism operations and brought change to the local economy. In 2019, prior to COVID-19, 300,000 international tourists visited Waiheke Island.
Te Korowai o Waiheke will advertise the positions in the coming weeks, with some roles requiring specialist skills, but the majority open to people with good communication skills, a willingness to learn, and an interest in conservation.
“Given the seasonal nature of employment on the island, we are pleased to be able to introduce seven, new, full time equivalent jobs on the island,” Frankham says.
“These staff will contribute to Waiheke’s goal of being the world’s first predator-free urban island.”
Te Korowai o Waiheke currently employs 14 people in either full- or part-time positions.
The Jobs for Nature funding is part of New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery package, with the aim to provide economic support for people and communities across the country. Funding is managed across multiple government agencies to benefit the environment, people and the regions.
Over the next four years, Predator Free 2050 will use a portion of this funding to create 450 jobs that contribute to expanding and expediting predator eradication and enabling recovery of our precious and unique biodiversity.
The total Jobs for Nature funding will see up to 11,000 nature-based job opportunities created across the country over the next four years.
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About Te Korowai o Waiheke
Te Korowai o Waiheke: Towards Predator-Free Waiheke brings together residents, businesses, iwi, community groups, local and central government and has secured funding under the umbrella Trust organisation that aims to rid the island of mustelids and rats, to enhance the natural environment of Waiheke, and support the archipelago of pest-free islands.
The current programme is a stoat eradication project, which went operational in February 2020 with traps right across the island. The next part of the programme is a rat eradication pilot project. Waiheke is already possum-free.