Mnu MNU
About Us

People & Community

We walk together into the future to – share the mauri and mana of the maunga.

Our Purpose - To protect and enhance the mauri of Maungatautari

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a community led project at heart, with passionate and dedicated supporters, many of whom have donated both their time and their resources to support the project.  Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is governed by a trust made up of members from the community, landowners and local iwi representatives. This along with a team of passionate and committed staff, contractors, and support from national, regional and local bodies such as the Department of Conservation, Waikato Regional Council (Environment Waikato) and Waipa District Council and generous public and corporate sponsors has enabled the maunga to go from strength to strength.

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a taonga  (a natural resource which is highly prized) to mana whenua (local Māori who have a connection with the maunga).  Mana whenua work closely with the trust to ensure the maunga is restored to the lush and vibrant eco-system it was in the time of their fore fathers.

TEENAA KOUTOU KATOA

Me wehi ki te Atua, te timatanga o te whakaaro nui,

Me whakahonore ki too taatou Arikinui, Tuheitia, me toona hoa wahine, Te Atawhai, me aa raaua tamariki. Kia ora koutou te Whare Kaahui-ariki katoa.

Pai marire ki a raatou.

He mihi hoki teenei ki a koutou, ngaa mana whenua o te Tupuna Maunga. He paanui teenei e paa ana ki ngaa mahi a Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT).

MEIT has been charged with restoring Maungatautari to the lush and vibrant mountain it once was – the air filled with birdsong and the sweet scent of our varied plant life.

Maungatautari is truly a taonga and with our help it may once again be the mountain that our forefathers knew.

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari has over 200 registered volunteers, some of whom regularly contribute their time to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. They provide significant support to our daily operations with roles including monitoring and maintenance of tracks and tracking lines, monitoring the health and growth of various wildlife species, weeding and visitor hosting.  We are forever grateful for the time and effort this group of passionate people put into the project, we simply could not have achieved what we have without them!

Our amazing volunteer workforces were the winners of the Heritage and Environment award at the 2017 Trustpower Waipa District Community Awards. Please see the Support Us page to get involved.