Nicola Toki
9.3K posts
@naturevision
Wild at heart Mum & Critter Lady. Chief Executive of @forest_and_bird 🌿🦜. This is my personal account so views are my own.
🦆🐧🐦🦜🦉 Guess who? Starting today, there’s a new way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bird of the Year. We’re excited to introduce Birdle NZ! Think Wordle, but for birds. Every day you’ll get a new native manu to puzzle over. Play solo, play with your whānau, or start a daily office rivalry. Show off your bird nerd status or have a crack to learn more about the incredible manu that call Aotearoa home. Thank you to our partner Raining Rock Studio for your mahi! 👉 birdle.nz #BOTY2025 #BirdoftheYear2025 #BirdoftheYear #NZBirdoftheYear
🎉 It was standing room only at the launch of the new book, ‘Bird of the Year: Twenty years of ruffled feathers’ at Unity Books Wellington last night. Get your copy and dive into two decades of the manu and the mayhem! 📸: Caroline Wood 1 – Past campaign lead Laura Keown with author Ellen Rykers 2 – Artist Kiran Parbhu with his pūteketeke artwork 3 – Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki 4 – Standing room only at Unity Books 5/6 – Guests enjoying the new book
This week, Forest & Bird stood up for nature at Parliament. We gave oral evidence to the Environment Committee about the risks to nature from the Game Animal Council (Herds of Special Interest) Amendment Bill. ⛰️National Parks are deeply cherished by New Zealanders and form an essential part of our identity. We know that international visitors also value our unique wildlife and natural landscapes. Rudyard Kipling once described Fiordland National Park as “the Eighth Wonder of the World.”⛰️ Forest & Bird emphasised that the Bill: 🌿 Is fundamentally inconsistent with the purpose of the National Parks Act 1980 🌿 Threatens New Zealand’s native species and the national parks set up to protect them 🌿 Sets a dangerous precedent for conservation policy, and is rushed and lacks adequate consultation 🔬The science is clear: you can’t protect native species while maintaining hunting herds in national parks. Many powerful submissions have echoed this message. 🔬 We’re proud to be one of nature’s defenders. You can watch our oral submission at youtu.be/3CT7SHOdqlk Together, we can protect our wild places and ensure national parks remain sanctuaries for native wildlife – not playgrounds for political compromise.
“They’re making about 60% of conservation land, that’s 5 million hectares, easier to swap or sell off and weakening the importance of conservation in decision-making. That’s not saving nature in these special places,” says Forest & Bird Chief Executive Nicola Toki. There is: 🌳 No public mandate 🌳 No warning before the election 🌳 No independent checks and balances “We have a proud history and legacy of protecting public conservation land that belongs to all of us today, and the future generations tomorrow.” “Now is the time to protect and restore, not to weaken what remains.” ✋ Say NO to making it easier to sell conservation land. 📨 Use our quick letter tool to write to party leaders: 👉 forestandbird.org.nz/save-conservat… #SaveConservationLand 📽️ video credit: 1News, TVNZ
Forest & Bird’s GM of Advocacy Richard Capie explains how the Government’s new fast-track law has stripped New Zealanders of their right to speak up for the places they love. Denniston Plateau is conservation land – home to ancient forests, rare wildlife, and headwater streams that feed entire communities. But a massive 25-year coal mine is now being pushed through without public consultation or environmental oversight. Richard makes it clear: this is more than just a nature issue. It’s about democracy. The people who will live with the fallout – toxic waterways, acid mine drainage, wrecked ecosystems – have been locked out of the decision-making process. If fast-track can happen here, it can happen anywhere. 💔 The climate can’t afford more coal. 💰New Zealanders shouldn’t have to keep paying for mine clean-ups. 🌿 And the natural heritage of Aotearoa shouldn’t be up for sale. We’ve stood up for Denniston before. It’s time to rise again. 👉 Learn more forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/denn… 🙌 Huge thanks to our friends at Guardian Films for capturing voices of Denniston along with stunning natural beauty of the landscape. Drone footage courtesy of Neil Silverwood. 🎥 Watch the full collection on our YouTube channel. #StopTheFastTrack #KiwiNotCoal #SaveDenniston #SaveConservationLand #ClimateCrisis
Will @cjsbishop listen to his favourite frontman’s vote for nature?! @JonToogood has donated the handwritten lyrics of ‘Home Again’ to #OursNotMines, in support of NZ’s precious conservation land. We’re thrilled to see the legendary Kiwi musician join the campaign for a future for Aotearoa that doesn’t include mining on public #ConservationLand New coal mines have been proposed for conservation land, including widespread mining on the biodiversity hotspot of the Denniston Plateau on the #WestCoast, that Forest & Bird has fought to protect for many years - and continues to fight for. Thanks Jon - we’re with you to make sure that #Aotearoa is somewhere that future generations can always come ‘Home Again’ to. The lyrics will go live this evening at trademe.co.nz/oursnotmines. For more about stewardship land: forestandbird.org.nz/resources/st... @naturevision #Shihad
