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June 2023 Newsletter

Despite the weather events earlier this year which hammered the Coromandel Peninsula (along with many other places in the North Island), we are pleased to have achieved some successes in the last year. Read on to see what we’ve been up to…     ...

November 2020 Newsletter

We are so excited to tell you, our friends and supporters, that we have just launched a website dedicated to the Rings Beach Wetland Group:  The brand new Rings Beach Wetland Group website is a fantastic resource that will take you on a journey of the history of the walking track in the Matarangi Bluff Scenic Reserve, from its inception and creation right through to all of the hard work that is done by our fantastic volunteers on a daily basis to help keep this wonderful rese...

Kiwi return to Matarangi Bluff Scenic Reserve

DOC Media release - July 2020 Kiwi confirmed in Coromandel reserve Conservation groups on the central east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula are marking a major success, with confirmation of a population kiwi in a scenic reserve in the settlements of Matarangi and Kuaotunu. Representatives from Project Kiwi and Rings Beach Wetland Group spent several consecutive nights in the reserve through June conducting audio monitoring for kiwi calls - essentially sitting quietly and recording kiwi calls, n...

Rings Beach Wetland Group 2019 Update

This has been an eventful and milestone year for our conservation project.   Earlier in the year, after cutting wilding pines in the Rings Beach valley a steep drop was revealed on a rocky, uneven and narrow stretch of the track.  With the efforts of Walkway Solutions, who carried out the successful upgrade to the Matarangi track some time ago, and with helicopter transport of their equipment, a repair was effected making that area safer for walkers. This was generously funded by ...

Three-Year Grant Awarded to Protect Rings Beach Wetland

A community group tackling wilding pines at Rings Beach, on the Coromandel Peninsula, has been given a $90,000 funding boost by Waikato Regional Council. The decision was made yesterday by the council’s finance committee, with the money coming from the natural heritage fund established to preserve native plants and animals, threatened ecosystems, outstanding landscapes and the natural character of waterways and the coast. Wilding pine infestations on pastoral farms can decrease ...

"One Man's Dream" - A History of the Rings Beach Wetland Group

In 2016, Ian Patrick (a member of the Rings Beach Wetland Group), spent many hours collating and perfecting a complete historical record of the Rings Beach Wetland project.   The end result of Ian's hard work was a book called "One Man's Dream" which chronicles the project from the beginning of the idea in Bruce Smith's mind, right through to the fantastic community resource that we are all able to use today. The book goes into incredible detail of of the highs and lows, the triumphs a...

Rings Beach Wetland Group wins Plant Conservation award

Towards the end of 2016, the Rings Beach Wetland Group were invited to submit an entry in the Community Group category for an annual awards competition hosted by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.   The entry was successful and the certificate was awarded at a ceremony in Wellington in October 2016 attended also by Coromandel MP Scott Simpson. ...

Rings Beach Wetland Project features on TV1 Good Sorts Programme

In March 2016, Hayden Jones from TVNZ's Good Sorts travelled to the Coromandel to visit the Rings Beach Wetland group and he brought his crew with him! Watch the awesome segment they filmed that featured on TV1 which pays tribute to the original visionary Bruce Smith, our Patron Ian McDonald, and all of the wonderful volunteers whose dedication continue to ensure the Matarangi Bluff reserve is flourishing for everyone to enjoy. This video is published courtesy of TVNZ. ...