Episode 66 - Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari: How farmers are helping save New Zealand kiwi

In this episode, Sarah Perriam-Lampp speaks with Graeme Gleeson, a Waikato sheep and beef farmer, and Helen Hughes, CEO of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, about farming’s growing role in helping preserve New Zealand’s biodiversity through conservation. Graeme reflects on the community’s involvement in kiwi recovery and environmental stewardship, while Helen discusses the urgent need for funding to support the continuation of kiwi translocations and predator control. 

Guests:

1. Graeme Gleeson, Sheep and beef farmer, Waikato
2. Helen Hughes, CEO, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari

Host:

• Sarah Perriam-Lampp, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Country-Wide

 

Graeme Gleeson is a Waikato sheep and beef farmer whose property neighbours Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari—New Zealand’s largest mainland ecological sanctuary. A long-time observer and supporter of the project, Graeme has seen the transformation of Maungatautari into a thriving predator-free haven for over 3,000 North Island brown kiwi.

In this episode, Graeme reflects on his evolving mindset as a farmer—from focusing solely within the farm gate to recognising the wider environmental responsibilities shared across the catchment. He highlights the remarkable kiwi recovery made possible through predator control and decades of volunteer commitment, and the opportunity now to translocate birds into other predator-managed areas across the North Island.

Graeme also discusses the practical realities behind conservation efforts, including a current crowdfunding campaign to fund two side-by-side vehicles essential for the translocation programme. He explains how the farming community is stepping up, not just by donating, but by preparing their own land—often through QEII Trust covenants and pest control—for future kiwi releases.

He sees this work as legacy-building: a collective effort by rural New Zealand to preserve native biodiversity for generations to come.

Helen Hughes is the Chief Executive of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari (SMM). As the seventh CEO in a decade, Helen leads a complex operation that combines biodiversity restoration with community and iwi partnerships.

In this episode, Helen outlines the sanctuary’s urgent funding needs—particularly a crowdfunding campaign to purchase two side-by-side vehicles essential for predator control and kiwi translocations. While recent government funding has helped fill a gap left by expiring philanthropic grants, the sanctuary still faces a $500,000 shortfall this year.

Helen shares the challenges of running a 47-kilometre predator-fenced reserve and highlights the skilled rangers who maintain it through extreme weather and demanding pest control work. She also explains the unique iwi-led kiwi translocation process and explores opportunities to contract pest programmes on surrounding farmland as a revenue stream.

With increased pressure on philanthropic funding nationwide, Helen calls for public support, noting that even small donations make a big difference. She invites listeners to visit Maungatautari and experience a rare glimpse of New Zealand’s pre-human ecosystem—while helping secure its future.

 

Read more about Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari here.

Donate money to the cause through the link here.

 

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