Dedicated volunteers left in limbo after tools stolen

The theft of thousands of dollars in tools has dealt a heavy blow to a group of Waikato conservation volunteers.

Most Saturdays the Friends of Pukemokemoke Bush Reserve volunteers meet at the 40-hectare reserve to carry out predator control, conservation and maintenance work.

But on April 24, Noel Sandford, 79, discovered his electric nail gun, chainsaw, hammer and ruler had been stolen from his lock box. They will cost at least $2000 to replace.

Without those essential tools, the group had to cut and hammer everything by hand, even using the back of a tomahawk to hammer the nails in, Sandford said. Only 2 metres of the walkway was completed, as opposed to the 6 metres they’d hoped to complete.

‘‘It feels so awful that someone would stoop so low to take stuff from people who are voluntarily doing work to improve their access,’’ Sandford told

‘‘If we weren’t working here, they wouldn’t even be able to get into the place.’’

Sandford has been volunteering for eight years. He’s in charge of managing, upgrading and building the track, helping prevent kauri dieback, while others focus on planting, weeding, spraying and mowing.

‘‘We can have anywhere between three volunteers a day to over 20 volunteers each weekend’’.

When the Pukemokemoke Bush Trust was set up 20 years ago, trees were covered in vines and creepers. There was privet, pampas and gorse, honeysuckle, blackberry, convolvulus, possums, rats and stoats. Today the reserve boasts 100 bait stations and more than 15,000 native trees, including matai, to¯ tara, kauri, ka¯ nuka and kahikatea, picnic spots and 360-degree views of the region.