The Te Matuku environs brings together a wide range of public, iwi and non governmental organisations alongside private individuals, all contributing to the conservation of this nationally significant area. Understanding who they are and how they relate to each other is key to appreciating the depth of commitment to this place.
Government & public agencies
Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai
DOC administers Te Matuku Bay Scenic Reserve, Waiheke Scenic Reserve, the Waiheke Island Historic Cemetery Reserve, and the Te Matuku Bay Conservation Area. Pouteria operates under a Community Agreement with DOC to carry out conservation work across these four reserves. DOC also supports our work through Community Fund Grants.
Auckland Council
Auckland Council administers several reserves within 2km of Te Matuku Bay, including Squirrell's Reserve, Te Matuku Stockyard Reserve, Hunterville Reserve and a significant area of Esplanade Reserve. The council also holds at least four conservation covenants in the area.
Iwi
Ngai Tai ki Tamaki
Ngai Tai ki Tamaki are tangata whenua of Te Matuku Bay. A portion of Te Matuku Bay Scenic Reserve was gifted to Ngai Tai ki Tamaki pursuant to a Treaty Settlement. Pouteria operates within this area under a Memorandum of Understanding with Ngai Tai ki Tamaki, reflecting a relationship built on mutual respect and a shared commitment to kaitiakitanga.
Conservation organisations
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society
Forest and Bird own the Te Haahi-Goodwin Reserve, which forms part of the Historic Precinct alongside DOC's three reserves. Their reserve contributes significantly to the connected corridor of protected land around Te Matuku Bay.
Queen Elizabeth II National Trust
Five titles adjoining Te Matuku Bay Scenic Reserve are covenanted to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust and so protected in perpetuity. By actively managing their covenants the landowners both broaden and enhance the Te Matuku Environs conservation project.
Funders & supporters
Foundation North
Foundation North has provided grant funding in support of Pouteria's conservation work in Te Matuku Bay Scenic Reserve.
Local philanthropists
A number of generous local individuals provide financial support that helps sustain our volunteer-led operations and fund contractor work in the reserves.
Private landowners
Within a 2km radius of Te Matuku Bay, a large number of private landowners are actively engaged in conservation on their own properties. There are at least 5 QEII covenants, 4 Auckland Council covenants, and the Fenwick Family DOC Covenant in the area — plus many uncovenanted properties where owners are undertaking pest management and native restoration, including around the significant swamp maire forest and the Omaru Bay forest.
This extraordinary concentration of private conservation effort, alongside the public reserves, is what makes Te Matuku environs genuinely special — and what gives Pouteria's work as a land bridge such potential.
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