March 20, 2026

Aotearoa’s Natural Legacy: Beauty on the Brink

New Zealand’s natural environment is globally exceptional. Isolated for millions of years, our islands evolved species that exist nowhere else – like the kākāpō, kiwi, tuatara, and giant wētā. But this very isolation is also our ecological Achilles’ heel. Without mammalian predators during their evolution, our native flora and fauna lack the defences to survive the onslaught of pests introduced by humans over the past few centuries.