Urban Ark – Manawa Taiao
  • About us
    • Our vision
    • Our plan
    • Our partners and supporters
    • Our trust board
  • Support us
  • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • Join a group
    • Report a catch
    • Trap rats, possums and more
    • Remove weeds
    • Plant natives
    • Make your garden native-friendly
    • Become a trustee
    • Other ways you can help
  • Biodiversity
    • Birds
    • Bats
    • Skinks and geckos
    • Butterflies and moths
    • Invertebrates
    • Landscapes
  • Resources
    • The Workshop
    • Tool library
    • Trapping resources
    • Promotional resources
    • Pest monitoring
    • Being a good citizen
    • Seeking funding
    • Cats
    • Dogs
    • Schools
    • Businesses
    • Health & Safety
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Manawa Taiao – the heart of the environment

­­Urban Ark – Manawa Taiao is a key piece in the native biodiversity jigsaw of Pest Free Auckland 2050.

By enabling and supporting the work of a diverse collection of community conservation groups we see thousands of households, plus schools and businesses working together to create a place where our native species can thrive. A place where native birdsong doesn’t just mean a couple of tūī, where our endemic skinks and geckos are abundant, and native trees grow free of smothering weeds. We want our Urban Ark to be the Manawa Taiao – the heart of the environment.

Our patch

Urban Ark – Manawa Taiao supports community groups working across 35 square kilometres (3500 ha) of Tāmaki Makaurau’s inner west – from Ponsonby to Pt Chevalier and from Mt Albert to Mt Eden. Around the maunga of Maungawhau and Ōwairaka we work with the Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority to care for protect these important taonga. Along the awa, we seek to protect and restore Te Auaunga (Oakley Creek), Waitītiko (Meola Creek), Waiorea (Motions Creek) and Opoututeka (Coxs Creek).

With the help of many of the 45,000 households across 35 square kilometres of the region, we are bringing back the native biodiversity that has been largely absent in such an urban environment.

Our logo

The Urban Ark logo was created by Glenn Jones who was inspired by the native kōtare (kingfishers) he frequently observes around Te Tokaroa / Meola Reef. The paired birds form a heart shape, reflecting our desire to be the Manawa Taiao – the heart of the environment. To Māori, the motionless kōtare is a watchful sentry. It lends its name to the pā platform used to watch out for enemies, just as we watch out for invaders threatening our natural taonga.

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© Urban Ark – Manawa Taiao 2022

Photo credits: Bartek Wyptch (grey warbler)

Urban Ark – Manawa Taiao logo: Glenn Jones

Website by RS

  • Get Involved
    • Join a group
      • Forest & Bird Bullock Track Bush
      • Friends of Maungawhau
      • Friends of Oakley Creek Te Auaunga
      • Jaggers Bush Restoration Group
      • Kingsland Eco-neighbourhood
      • Lemington Reserve Restoration Group
      • Lower Waitītko groups
      • Maungawhau Ecological Halo
      • Oakley Loop Group
      • Pest Free Gladstone
      • Pest Free Balmoral
      • Pest Free Mt Eden
      • Pest Free Ōwairaka
      • Pest Free Pt Chevalier
      • Pest Free Sandringham
      • Pest Free Waterview
      • Predator Free Grey Lynn
      • Predator Free Herne Bay-Ponsonby
      • Predator Free Morningside / Western Springs
      • Manu Tīoriori I Te Uru / Western Songbird Project
      • Predator Free Westmere / Kaiwhakahaere
      • STEPS
      • Urban Ark – Manawa Taiao
      • Wellparkers
      • Conservation Volunteeers NZ
    • Report a catch
    • Trap rats, possums and more
      • Rats
      • Possums
      • Stoats
      • Hedgehogs
      • Wasps
    • Remove weeds
    • Plant natives
    • Make your garden native-friendly
    • Become a trustee
    • Other ways you can help
  • Biodiversity
    • Birds
      • Kākā
      • Kākāriki
      • Kererū
      • Korimako / Bellbird
      • Riroriro / Grey Warbler
      • Tōrea / South Island Pied Oystercatcher
      • Rūrū / Morepork
      • Tūī
      • White-faced heron
      • Rogues gallery
    • Bats
    • Skinks and geckos
    • Butterflies and moths
    • Invertebrates
    • Landscapes
      • The maunga
      • Waitītiko / Meola Creek
      • Te Auaunga / Oakley Creek
      • Rock forests
  • Resources
    • The Workshop
      • Making trap tunnels
      • Rat-proof your compost
      • Build a wētā motel
      • Nest boxes for ruru
    • Tool library
    • Trapping resources
      • Setting rat traps
      • Setting a Trapinator possum trap
      • Humane trapping
      • Pulsing
      • What's the best lure?
      • Blaze your tree
      • Recording your catch
      • Dealing with dead rats (and possums)
      • New technology
    • Promotional resources
    • Pest monitoring
      • Chew cards
      • Wax tags
      • Tracking tunnels
    • Being a good citizen
    • Seeking funding
    • Cats
    • Dogs
    • Schools
    • Businesses
    • Health & Safety
  • News
  • Events
  • About us
    • Our vision
    • Our plan
    • Our partners and supporters
    • Our trust board
  • Support us
  • Contact