With just over 100 or so known Ngutukākā plants in the wild, it is considered a nationally critical species. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Graeme Atkins (Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine) has a knack for "spotting the unusual".
It's something that served him well while working as a ranger for the Department of Conservation near Ruatoria, on the East Coast of the North Island.
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Amongst native bush and towering cliffs, Atkins has an ability to find rare treasures like the vibrant ngutukākā or kākābeak flower.
A seriously threatened plant species endemic only to Aotearoa New Zealand, there are only about 150 known wild kākābeaks, most of which have been found along the East Coast.
"Finding plants that were still managing to cling on was like finding gold for me," Atkins tells Country Life. "They only grow here."
Graeme Atkins, a former DOC ranger, has been helping protect plants like the ngutukākā or kakabeak. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
It was while working his "dream job" of checking historic plant records for DOC and revisiting sites to confirm whether they were still there that he discovered a wild ngutukākā plant.
"When you get bitten by the tree bug you sort of realise some of these plants have been here millions of years. And their existence is threatened by our actions and so there's a responsibility I feel to do something about it."
Atkins made a "last-ditch" effort to save it. The reserve surrounding his home is now filled with beautiful ngutukākā in all shades - red, pink and white.
"It's like Noah's Ark around here, especially for our plants. I've got some real treasures that I've been able to get to grow."
He hopes to one day see the flowers returned to their natural environment, but in the meantime takes comfort knowing they are safe.
Atkin's collection of ngutukākā or kakabeak plants includes the white flower variety. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
He's further grown his efforts though the Tairāwhiti Ngutukākā project, which plants, protects and cares for wild and cultivated ngutukākā around the East Coast.
The trust was started three years ago and is working to plant 1000 ngutukākā alongside State Highway 35 to act as monitoring sites for the plant's health in the wild and to help grow their profile amongst the general public. They nearly hit the 1000 milestone last year, but a few sites were wiped out by Cyclone Gabrielle.
"The issue is when things become so rare that people no longer interact with them. It's hard to get people to care about them when they're no longer in their lives," he says.
That's why he has also organised the first Tairāwhiti Ngutukākā Festival, which takes place 18-21 September. He hopes it will become an annual event, run along the lines of Rhododendron festival and helping educate people more about the "poster boy for threatened plants" from "the nation's number one kākābeak garden".
You can find more about the event, on their website.
Kākābeak is named for its beautiful red flowers, which hang in clusters of 15-20 blooms and are shaped like a kaka's beak. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
