Each year The Gift Trust team offsets our carbon footprint by purchasing carbon credits from Ekos, supporting NZ indigenous forests. This year we donated to the Rarakau Project in Southland. We encourage you to do the same and offset your own carbon footprint!
So who is Ekos and what do they do?
Ekos makes carbon footprint measurement and offsetting accessible for businesses and individuals. They run projects that grow and protect indigenous forests. These projects do more than capture carbon: they reduce erosion, help to clean waterways, improve biodiversity and provide sustainable income for local communities in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Rarakau Project
Inside the Rarakau Forrest
The Gift Trust’s donation has been directed to protecting 738ha of Māori owned tall indigenous rainforest in western Southland. This wet rainforest is adjacent to Fiordland National Park on the very southern coastline of the South Island, and located at the start of the Hump Ridge Track. The forest has a silver beech canopy, intermixed with miro and tōtara.
The community landowners logged these forests in the past to help fund community development. In 2007 Ekos invited them to change forest land use from production to protection and to finance conservation and community development through supplying carbon offsets.
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“We manage our land at Rarakau for our future generations. We sell carbon credits instead of wood. We want our mokopuna (grandchildren) to enjoy the sounds of the Tūī, the Kākā, the Kiwi and maybe even one day the Kākāpō. We also want to lead by example, in responsible sustainable management.”
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“Our forest carbon project is just great. It enables us to progress our economic development without having to cut our trees down. Our rivers are not being choked up with sediment because we are not logging the forest. The bird life is thriving and we are helping to protect the coastal waters. The revenue from carbon credits helps us train our young people, develop our farm and provide future education and employment opportunities.”
Ekos also support these projects:
RAMEKA FOREST CARBON PROJECT – Indigenous reforestation of 91ha of marginal farmland in Golden Bay, Tasman District.
SASABOE RAINFOREST CONSERVATION PROJECT – The Sasaboe Project is protecting 4,027ha of rainforest from logging on Choiseul in the Solomon Islands.
DRAWA RAINFOREST CONSERVATION PROJECT – The Drawa project on Vanua Levu protects 3,945ha of rainforest from logging.
LORU RAINFOREST CONSERVATION PROJECT – Protecting 166ha of rainforest in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. This area is home to endangered bird and marine species.
The Ekos website is easy to navigate with all the information you need. One great feature is a calculator you can use to get an estimate of your carbon impact and how much you should donate. Another good option is their Gift Packs where you can donate some of the options shown below.
If you want to read more, head to their website https://www.ekos.org.nz
