Predator Free Whangārei is the seventh national large landscape project to be supported by Predator Free 2050 Ltd. It is also a critical step towards Northland Regional Council’s vision of a predator free Tai Tokerau.
Predator Free Whangārei is a collaborative five-year project that builds on years of dedicated and successful community predator control in the Whangārei area and while it is being coordinated by Northland Regional Council, it is very much a community-led project.
Since January 2020 we have been working alongside the Predator Free Whangārei project team, iwi/hapū, community groups and landowners, and partners including the Kiwi Coast Trust, Department of Conservation and Whangārei District Council, to develop an approach to communications and engagement for the project that is meaningful and inclusive of all parties.
Our mahi to date
- Communications & Engagement Strategy
- Logo & Identity Development
- Brand Story & Messaging
- Website Design & Development
- Workshops & Facilitation
- Collateral Design & Production
Community engagement is an ever evolving journey, and from the beginning, we have been mindful that as well as navigating the wide and diverse needs of the community, we needed a strategy and an approach that allowed for the complexities of Covid-19, including the restrictions placed on community gatherings and kanohi ki te kanohi kōrero.
Prior to Covid, we were fortunate to be able to lead workshops with key partners to explore the challenges and risks of the project, community workshops to explore why and how the community could get involved, community open days to raise awareness, and also a funding acknowledgement celebration with Ministers Eugenie Sage and Shane Jones.
Through meeting and talking with the community, we had the opportunity to listen - and understand - what possum eradication and predator control meant to them.
Through our consultation to date, meeting with and listening to key stakeholders and the wider community, we gathered the insights and knowledge needed to develop the Communications and Engagement Framework and subsequently the Communications and Engagement Strategy for the project, identifying goals and objectives, guiding principles, key audiences, risks, resources required and developing a plan around engagement activity. Through carefully designed workshops, we were able to create a safe and supportive environment for the community to share not only their dreams, but also their concerns about the project. We have subsequently supported Predator Free Whangārei with a wide range of communications and engagement activities, including media engagement, information-sharing resources for the community, landowner engagement tools as well as digital and print collateral.
We continue to support the project, most recently with the launch of the Predator Free Whangārei website. The website provides an overview of the project and shares the collaborative successes of the community, including the gradual expansion of the trapping areas and the increasing community awareness and engagement around the project. The site also acknowledges key partners of the project and shares insights into the exciting and innovative new tools being developed in the predator free space. We look forward to continuing to work alongside this project into the future, as the vision for the project is gradually realised.
