Get involved

Volunteers feeding tītī chicks at Boundary Stream (Photo by Natalie de Burgh)

Any volunteer opportunities with Predator Free Hawke's Bay will be posted here. Due to the nature of working on private land, field opportunities are rare. If you are keen to support the project please feel free to get in touch on our Contact Us page.

Check out Biodiversity Hawke's Bay who are committed to working together so that Hawke's Bay's biodiversity is enhanced, healthy and functioning and they need your help!

Or check out the Department of Conservation's volunteer opportunities in Hawke's Bay.

Check out our merchandise for another way to support us.

If you are interested in becoming involved in urban trapping, check out Predator Free Urban Hawke's Bay.

Volunteering at the Cape Sanctuary

Cape Sanctuary is New Zealand’s largest privately owned and operated, predator-fenced mainland wildlife sanctuary. Spanning over 2500ha, a variety of diverse landscapes and habitats, and home to re-established endangered species, the sanctuary is an amazing project to be a part of. Our ethos is conservation in a multi-use landscape—how to we achieve conservation success while working hand in hand with agriculture, forestry, recreation and tourism?

Community involvement is essential to the success of the sanctuary—with private landowners, local iwi and hāpū, government and volunteers all working together. Our volunteer rotations have been developed to offer those wanting to work with endangered species, learn the ropes of conservation, stay fit, gain work experience, or just have fun in the outdoors with a bunch of like-minded people!

Volunteer Rotations:

Revegetation Team—Help with planting (winter), native tree nursery (year round). Weekday mornings, all ages/fitness levels.
Predator Control—Attending to bait stations, trap lines, monitoring. This team sees some amazing landscapes and keeps you fit! Recommended for ages 16 and over (unless supervised).
Shore Plover Team—Feeding and husbandry of critically endangered shore birds in our captive breeding programme. Shift is 3hrs feeding and husbandry morning shift. Daily, 8am start.
Forest Bird Feeders—Daily supplementary feed prep and husbandry for our kākā, kākāriki and forest birds. Flexible feed times, 3hrs approx., great for kids!
Ocean Beach Wildlife—Supplementary feeding and husbandry of our wild kākāriki, tahakē, seabirds (seasonal), lizards. Own 4wd (with good ground clearance) required, 3hr shift, travel ~20km round trip within site. Spectacular scenery and experiences. Suitable for kids.
Kiwi Monitoring Team—Limited availability, reserved for long term and high fitness volunteers.
Maintenance Crew—Assist with project builds, maintenance of infrastructure including predator-fences

Reply to volunteer@capesanctuary.co.nz with your area (s) of interest!