We are only just getting started but this year we have responded quickly to global communities in need:
Supporting our local communities is close to our heart, and our impact initiatives largely focus on the communities in which we and our people operate within:
In 2020, Comvita became a major sponsor of Saving the Wild to support environmental biodiversity and the local community through building beekeeping knowledge in the Kaimana Sanctuary and Amboseli National Park in Kenya, Africa.
Our latest mission, the Saving the Wild Beekeeping Project, is about helping restore and strengthen the delicate balance between humans and nature while generating positive social outcomes in our global communities.
Set between the 1.6 million acres in the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem, the Kimana Wildlife Corridor is a critical wildlife dispersal area and is the only remaining way for wildlife to access the wider ecosystem to the east. The Saving the Wild Beekeeping Project helps protect the corridor and stop any further habitat loss from occurring.
This year we placed 200 hives in the Wildlife Corridor, and the bees are doing what they do best - pollinating the land and helping to create a more robust ecosystem.
We began harvesting our first honey harvest together, with all profits going towards an education fund for the children and women of the Massai Villages.
To learn more about our partnership with Saving the Wild CLICK HERE
We were excited to discover more than 22 kiwis at our Makino Station property, a 1,671-hectare property located in the central North Island of New Zealand. This inspired us to do what we can to protect these vulnerable birds and help them safely re-establish themselves with greater numbers.
As a result, we have teamed up with Save the Kiwi as a key sponsor. Save the Kiwi is an environmental cause that unites all New Zealanders to save our indicator species and help boost kiwi numbers by 2% each year.
We now have a kiwi protection programme underway at Makino Station with over 200 predator traps (approximately 27.8km of traplines) in position as a starting point, and a team on the ground monitoring kiwi and predator numbers.
We intend to work with Save the Kiwi as we broaden and create kiwi-safe habitats across our mānuka forests and enhance the natural habitat, so that the kiwis may flourish for generations to come.
This work is supported by additional research programmes underway at Makino to identify terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity.
We know that wasps - a predator for our bees and native wildlife - cause a devasting impact on our biodiversity by exploiting food sources within our forests.
In 2021, we became a key sponsor for the roll-out of the Wasp Wipeout Project in the Hawkes Bay Region. Wasp Wipeout is a community-led conservation project aimed at significantly reducing wasp populations in New Zealand. Initially established in high wasp risk areas such as Nelson-Tasman, they recently moved into high wasp population areas in the North Island.
While our apiary teams routinely establish wasp bait stations around our hives to protect and preserve bee welfare, this project broadens our reach.
In 2021 we funded the deployment of over 1,100 trap/bait stations, across 12 recreational conservation areas in Hawkes Bay. Several properties border where we place our hives, supporting a safe environment for our bees.
This year, we plan on supporting a wider roll-out of the Wasp Wipeout Project within wider North Island.
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