Ken and Sue of the Manawahe Kokako Trust

“One of the great secrets of happiness–and also of longevity–is living with a sense of purpose”-Richard J. Leider.  I read this recently while sitting in a friends office, patiently waiting for him to get off the phone.

I think of this quote as I write about a couple who have become dear friends and support, not only for me, but for those people in the community they work and connect with.

I am in awe as I follow Ken and Sue Laurent to the summit of Moutohora, their seasoned legs leaving me in the dust. We are on the trail of a young kiwi ‘Wiki’ who seems to like to view towards Whakaari (White Island), from up here.

I am firing questions at them to help me with this article, hoping I will remember the answers once my heart rate returns to normal. If I have the same amount of energy that Ken and Sue have when I retire I will be very happy.

Not only are they helping with the kiwi health checks today, but they have just spent three days following kokako. This is part of a research project looking into the health of the kokako population in the core Manawahe Kokako Project protected area.

Ken is one of the founding members of the Manawahe Kokako Trust, a trust that was formed nearly 17 years ago and whose board has remained essentially the same during that time. “That says a lot about this group of dedicated and selfless people,” says Ken. “We have seen the kokako population increase from 9 to over 50 and we don’t plan to stop now. We all trudge around the hills checking traps and filling bait stations, our reward is hearing the haunting calls of this iconic species that we are helping to protect for future generations.” 

Often these future generations will be out in the bush with Ken and Sue. As well as being enthusiastic conservationists, spending time with their 12 grandchildren (two of whom are regular kiwi volunteers) is a priority.

All of the grand kids have held the aerial up in the air while standing on their Ken and Sue’s deck at home. Pointing it towards Moutohora and craning their heads to hear the ‘ping’ from a transmitter attached to ‘Wai’, a kiwi living on the island. But Jordyn and Emmerson, along with Sue’s son Jamie and wife Tracey, are regular volunteers with the Kiwi Trust too. It would seem that the passion for our environment and volunteering has been passed down.

According to Sue, she and Ken plan to feed their addiction to conservation and volunteering rather than starve it. This is a good thing for the local community and wildlife, as they are committed to doing what they can to help restore and enhance the environment that we are so lucky to have in our backyard.

“It really is such a ‘feel good’ activity,” enthuses Sue. “There are so many fabulous people involved, the rewards are plentiful and the sense of family is wonderful.”

Sue is a semi-retired teacher, working part-time at Allandale School. Together with Ken, they are the educational team leaders for the Whakatane Kiwi Trust. Ken works with other education team volunteers to lead school children through the trusts ‘Kiwi Tracker’. Groups are led on expeditions through the Ōhope Scenic Reserve and experience the ‘real’ bush life: seeing dead stoats caught in traps, and touching kiwi eggshells, feathers and burrows. On some occasions, they have been lucky enough to track an actual kiwi.

Not happy to watch others do the hard work while monitoring kiwi, Ken and Sue are now undertaking kiwi handling and transmitter attachment training. This is why I have to follow them to the summit of this beautiful island today. One more supervised transmitter attachment and Sue is ‘signed off’ and able to undertake kiwi health checks on her own well, with Ken in tow, of course.

“We love seeing an increase in the birdlife throughout the Whakatāne area and sharing our experiences with others,” says Sue. “Our favourite part of our role with the Whakatane Kiwi Trust is watching young kiwi grow from chicks to their ‘stoat-proof’ weight of 1kg, but our least favourite is when one dies from predation. That’s what makes the project so addictive – what we do really does make a difference.”