Mandamus Reserve Charitable Trust
The Mandamus Reserve Charitable Trust is a voluntary organisation set up to create a long-term, sustainable conservation platform for a 3,300 hectare segment of Island Hills Station, a 5,500 ha private farm in North Canterbury. At the heart of the Mandamus Reserve is the 601 hectare QEII open space covenant formed by Ed and Jan Shand in 1992.
Currently owned by Dan and Mandy Shand, the farm is home to the Island Hills Station Walking Track, a commercial multi-day hiking experience hosted by tourism operators Shaun Monk and Haley Lloyd, who reside on the property. Guests are able to walk through the mountainous property on marked trails and stay at historic huts and shearers quarters. Shaun and Haley are enthusiastic conservationists and hunters and have been running a voluntary predator trapping programme since 2019. They have set up a sponsorship system where guests and supporters can buy traps for the project online via https://giveatrap.org.nz, a system donated to Forest and Bird by the Willocks family in memory of Penny Willocks who came up with the “give a trap” idea after hiking the Island Hills Station Walking Track.
The Island Hills team also runs fundraising events, notably the Skedaddle “run for nature” trail running race. This event has not only raised funds for the Mandamus Reserve, but also created more awareness of private land conservation efforts. The local QEII National Trust team have a strong presence at the event. Public interest in the Island Hills Walking Track and the Skedaddle event has generated support from volunteers and organisations.
The Mandamus Reserve Charitable Trust is an environmental partner with 1% For The Planet, a conduit to receive donations from business sponsors.
The trust is supported by Save the Kiwi foundation in a consultation role to work towards a Great Spotted Kiwi release in the future. Environment Canterbury and QEII Trust have worked with the Shands to help fence out livestock and fund predator traps. It is very much a community project.
The Mandamus Reserve project now requires more volunteers to help with trap re-baiting and data collection using Trap.NZ, conservation advisory, installation and data collection from motion sensor cameras and other monitoring tools, lugging in box traps and installing bait stations.
For enquiries please contact [email protected]
https://islandhillsstation.com