About Us

Our Trust was formed in July 2010 by Nigel Babbage, Rhys Buckingham and Ron Nilsson. We complement the work of the Department of Conservation by leading a planned, coordinated and community-driven strategy to make the discoveries and drive the research needed to bring about the recovery of the species.

Our Vision is that we confirm that the remarkable South Island kōkako exists so that it can be conserved appropriately, and we are inviting everyone to help, whether tramper, volunteer, scientist, sponsor, donor …

The Trust is governed through a Trust Deed, incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957, and is a registered charitable entity in terms of the Charities Act 2005.  #CC44621

Current Trustees

ewen fraser (chair)

Ewen is a semi-retired electronics engineer who spent a lot of his childhood knee-deep in swamps watching fernbirds and spotless crakes. The Trust found him when looking for help with the development of an automated playback and record gadget. Ewen’s interests in conservation and electronics are a valuable addition to our team, leading him to join a search expedition in Autumn 2023.

MARK BRABYN

Mark created and ran Hiking New Zealand for over 20 years and more recently has been putting his considerable energy and passion into the Arthurs Pass Wildlife Trust and in particular, kea conservation.  During 2017 he was instrumental in the construction of a kea information shelter at Arthurs Pass and the creation of the Kea Database, a citizen science project where members of the public can enter their encounters with keas and find out more about banded birds.  

Mark brings valuable rigour from his commercial interests and governance experience from his work in conservation as well as fitness for tough field work.

DR Euan Kennedy

Euan commenced his career in threatened species conservation in 1978, working for the NZ Wildlife Service. He retired from the Department of Conservation in 2020 where he led a national programme to improve biosecurity arrangements for the Department’s extensive inventory of pest-free islands.

Euan holds first-class post-graduate degrees in the social and natural sciences, a relatively rare combination of disciplines which brings to the South Island kōkako cause a vital understanding of conservation’s human and biological dimensions. Through his co-founding of the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust in 1987, Euan pioneered the use of the charitable trust concept to extend conservation of rare species and places to the care of the broader New Zealand community. 

In retirement, he continues to serve conservation in many ways, particularly for the Chatham Islands.

ANDREW GRANT

Recently retired, Andrew spent over 40 years working with wildlife and conservation.  Initially with the New Zealand Wildlife Service and then with the Conservation Department.  His experience includes: waterfowl research; all aspects of endangered species management with a wide range of threatened species; monitoring and survey in a wide variety of locations; producing plans, strategies and other similar planning documents for species and ecosystem management; coordinating and managing conservancy science planning; and, national development of best practice, audit and performance measurement. His most recent role was Technical Advisor (terrestrial ecosystems and species) at DOC in Christchurch and he played a key role in the recovery of the kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet.

bruce reid

Bruce is a retired teacher who grows cherries in Motueka and supports a few conservation projects in the Tasman region, as well as exploring further afield to enjoy and photograph nature and native birds in particular. Bruce has been volunteering on search expeditions in and around Kahurangi National Park, contributing to essential work to follow up some excellent reports of possible encounters, including a couple of his own.

jenny mcferrier (Treasurer)

Jenny has been passionate about the conservation of flora and fauna, especially birds, since a child.  Her qualifications are in IT and accounting and she brings 30 years’ experience in finance and administration.  Jenny has been a key part of the trust since it was formed in 2010 and applies her skills and conservation values to the role of Treasurer as well as to the financial and administrative needs of the Mōhua Charitable Trust.

Rowan nicholson

note to follow

dr daniel gold

note to follow

PETER SHAW

Peter worked for the Wildlife Service on population research and surveys of Takahe in the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland and red billed gulls at Kaikoura between 1975-1980. Between 1981-2018 he has worked with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) entomology division and more recently as an applied entomology scientist for HortResearch and Plant and Food Research in Nelson, working closely with the pipfruit industry and growers to help successfully develop an integrated pest management programme. Peter is now retired and is a volunteer for the Able Tasman Birdsong Trust and the Motueka DOC plant nursery. He has a keen interest in birdlife, outdoor recreation and conservation.

RHYS BUCKINGHAM (ADVISORY TRUSTEE)

Self-proclaimed kōkako addict, Rhys was a founding Trustee of this Trust, having spent over 40 years searching for evidence of the species’ existence. Rhys worked for the Wildlife Service and then as an ecological consultant. He has described the call of the South Island kokako as phenomenal - like a cathedral bell. Sightings or glimpses spread between 1984 and 2010 and between Stewart Island and Abel Tasman National Park keep him on the case.

Rhys is retired now and able to devote more time to the search, focussing on Abel Tasman National Park and supporting search efforts in Kahurangi National Park as well as working closely with the Trust. Read more here.

PROFESSOR STEPHEN MARSLAND (ADVISORY TRUSTEE)

Stephen is a professor of maths at Victoria University’s School of Mathematics and Statistics. He has been applying maths to the use of acoustics in determining the presence of native birds, first with the AviaNZ project at Massey and currently, with a grant from the National Geographic’s Recovery of Species on the Brink of Extinction programme, is applying maths to the creation of likely sounds of the South Island kōkako - as none are exist or can be confirmed - and then the automated analysis of forest bird call recordings against those sounds. Read Stephen’s University profile here.

The Trust was shocked and saddened by the loss of two of our founding trustees in Spring 2022. Their knowledge, enthusiasm and generosity is irreplaceable.

We acknowledge them and their wonderful contributions here.

Nigel Babbage

Nigel was a keen conservationist who returned home to New Zealand from New York in 2006 following a distinguished career in finance. Following a lifelong passion for the environment, Nigel volunteered for numerous stints on predator-free islands, working primarily with the critically-endangered kakapo. Late in 2007 Nigel formed an investment company, Mohua Investments Limited, and donates a portion of the company’s annual profits to native bird conservation in New Zealand.

Nigel was also the founder of the Mohua Charitable Trust, which underwrites projects to conserve critically threatened bird species with a focus on the mohua or yellowhead. His support has been particularly effective in enabling volunteers from local communities to participate in these formative projects. 

Nigel’s death in November 2022 while Chairman was a huge shock and loss to all who knew him.

Ron Nilsson

Ron was an endangered species specialist whose innovative and inspiring conservation career included more than 24 years with the former NZ Wildlife Service and its successor, the Department of Conservation, continuing in his retirement and up to his death in October 2022.

Most of Ron’s professional work focused on priorities in southern New Zealand and the sub-Antarctic, where he conceived, led and directed some of this country’s pioneering conservation projects. Ron’s knowledge of New Zealand’s native flora and fauna had extraordinary reach, an attribute on which he capitalised with his special ability to convey natural heritage stories to the New Zealand public.  His memory and recall of locations and wildlife knowledge was second to none and was invaluable when considering reports of possible encounters.

Not forgetting

Inger Perkins (general manager)

Inger left golf club management and renewable energy promotion in the UK to move to New Zealand in 2005 to work for the Department of Conservation on the West Coast.  Her roles were in business and community relations, and included planning, advocacy, education and awareness.  Leaving DOC in early 2016 enabled her to pursue her passion to promote, protect and share nature and natural landscapes.  Her three part time roles are with the South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust, the West Coast Penguin Trust and Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa, the Outdoor Access Commission. In recent years, she has been appointed to the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board and served as Chair for a while, and chaired the Hokitika Green Team supporting more sustainable behaviour in the Hokitika and Westland communities.