Force Of Nature - Te Aumangea O Te Turoa - A Conservation History of Forest and Bird 1923-2023

Published 2024. 364 pages.

Force of Nature Te Aumangea o te Turoa, written by David Young and Naomi Arnold, is the inspiring history of New Zealand's oldest and most successful conservation organisation. Forest & Bird. It has been at the forefront of environmental protection for over 100 years, and to mark their centenary in 2023 this book was commissioned to document their remarkable history. Beginning in 1923, Forest & Bird have been involved in all of the significant environmental campaigns of the last century, starting with efforts to protect native birds and their forest habitat. As public awareness grew, Forest & Bird was central to the campaigns to save the last remaining kauri forest in the 1940s and 50s, Lake Manapouri in the 1960s and 70s, and the pivotal and successful efforts to save native forest from being logged on the West Coast of the South Island, and in the Central North Island in the 1970s and 80s. As well, Forest & Bird has been involved with the creation of many national parks, the protection of large areas of the high country in the South Island, efforts to protect our marine environment, and in recent decades, attempts to tackle climate change, and the move to become predator free. It is an incredible legacy, and unsurprisingly, A Force of Nature is the most significant book about conservation to have been published in decades. With a strong focus on the remarkable men, women and children who have devoted their lives and energies to our environment, this highly readable, and totally inspiring story will be a must for anyone who cares about protecting our natural heritage.