The Whitebait Connection (WBC) programme was developed in Northland in 2000 by Stefan Seitzer and Vince Kerr. The Northland based, Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust (MTSCT) was formed in 2002 as a charitable umbrella and support organisation for both the WBC programme and also the Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) programme (EMR was co-founded by Vince Kerr and Samara Nicholas (nee Sutherland)) in 2002. Both programmes were born out of an urgent need for community engagement in freshwater and marine conservation and have become leading models for Education for Sustainability (EfS) in New Zealand.
Stefan Seitzer and Ira Seitzer successfully directed and undertook the national development and coordination of the WBC programme from 2001 until 2008 as founders and trustees of the trust. Ira and Stefan both resigned from their roles within WBC and the trust at the 2008 WBC wānanga at their home in Ngunguru to enter into new ventures. MTSCT trustee and consultant, Kim Jones, took on the role of WBC national coordinator in April 2008.
Since 2001 our WBC programme has resulted in 131,599 trees being planted along 54.87km of riparian habitat, with a total programme reach of 119,920 people, and 141 īnanga spawning habitats identified and adopted.
Statistics of achievements from the Whitebait Connection Programme since 2001