My name is Teun and I am the brand-spanking new member of the Matuku Link volunteer team! Along with our newest intern, Maud, I moved to New Zealand for half a year. And since Maud is going to be spending a lot of time here, I decided to join her. Now a bit about myself:

I am Dutch, I am very tall and I love the outdoors and being creative. I’ve never been this far away from home and never for so long, but the Kiwi-hospitality makes me feel like I’ve already lived here for a year!

If we haven’t met yet, I’m looking forward to doing so and if we have: nice to meet you 🙂

See you soon!!!

Teun 

Ps: If you’re having a hard time pronouncing Teun, I also listen to Tone or Tony 😉

Hi! I am Maud, 22 years old and just started my internship here at Matuku Link.

I am from the Netherlands, so it took some time to come here, but so far totally worth it! I am studying Tropical Forestry in the Netherlands and have learnt a lot of stuff about forest and nature management, de- and reforestation, wildlife management and working together with local communities (in tropical areas). During this internship I can put my knowledge about wildlife management to use and we actually live in a (subtropical) rainforest. In other words, the perfect place for my first internship!

During these 6 months I will support Annalily with all kind of different tasks and I am working on a lizard monitoring/research together with John Sumich.
I am here together with my boyfriend Teun and after my internship we are planning to travel for a couple of months to see the other parts of NZ. Tips are always welcome!
So far, it’s been lovely to meet you all and we (also speaking for Teun) feel very welcomed by all the kindness and hospitality that’s everyone is showing.

Always open to chat!  Contact Maud here 🙂

Natashja Haddow Brown from Massey University is researching a nasty disease: leptospirosis. Matuku Link helped with supplying Natashja and her team with freshly caught pests to discover if these carry the disease in Te Henga. 

Can we find Leptospira in Te Henga?

Leptospira is a type of bacterium, a tiny microorganism that is invisible to the naked eye.
Leptospira can live in the kidneys of infected animals. When these animals urinate (wee), the bacteria can travel to the environment. After heavy rain or flooding, Leptospira can spread further through wet soil and water to puddles, streams, rivers and lakes (Figure 1).

If we have a cut or scratch that comes into contact with urine, water or soil containing Leptospira, the bacteria can sometimes enter our body and cause a disease called leptospirosis. Our pets and other animals can get leptospirosis too.
People with leptospirosis may have muscle aches, fever, headaches, or feel like they have the flu. Sometimes people can become very sick and need to visit a doctor or even go to hospital.

But, what about Te Henga… Can we find Leptospira there? And where might it be hiding?

To answer these questions, a research team from Massey University is using science and detective skills to search for this tiny bacterium. We are looking for Leptospira in rats, mice, wild pigs, rabbits, dogs, horses and cattle, as well as in water and soil around Lake Wainamu, Waitī Stream and the Waitākere River (Figure 2). We are also talking with people in the community and using questionnaires to learn about how people, animals and the environment might be connected.

This is a big job, and we could not do it without the help of people from Te Henga and local groups such as Matuku Link. Together, we have collected rats and mice to investigate whether these animals are carrying Leptospira.

How was Matuku Link involved?

To know if pests carry Leptospira, we needed freshly caught rats, stoats, weasels and possums – Matuku Link’s trappers caught these for us and kept them in the freezers at Matuku Link. They installed a whole new line of rat traps in an area withhout previous trapping – a win-win when 15 rats were caught in the first two weeks!

Why is this investigation important?

If we know where Leptospira is hiding, we can learn more about how people and animals might get the disease. This can help us understand how to reduce the risk of leptospirosis and keep people and our animals safe.

Vicky joined the Matuku Link team in 2026 as an Environmental Educator. She grew up in the Waitākere Ranges and has a love for the outdoors and a commitment to environmental protection. Vicky views the wetlands as the critical, living link between the land and the sea. Vicky has had 30 years of teaching in a wide range of schools from Years 1 to 8 and being part of the Matuku Link team allows her to merge her teaching with her passion for nature.

Vicky’s path to Matuku Link came through her participation in the Science Teaching Leadership Programme (STLP). The programme provided her with the opportunity to step outside the classroom and work directly alongside scientists on conservation efforts. This experience led her to Matuku Link, where she connected with this wetland environment and the team. Vicky is focused on combining scientific inquiry with hands-on learning, helping students explore local biodiversity and understand why protecting these ecosystems matters.

Contact Vicky at schools@matukulink.org.nz for anything education related!

Josh Campbell is a master’s student in Biological Science at the University of Auckland. His research focuses on lepidoptera (the moths and butterflies) and the behaviour associated with their camouflage. 

Kia ora everyone! My name is Dan Borja, and I am a master’s student from the University of Auckland studying entomology. Over the last couple of months, I have been conducting experiments at Matuku Link with the permission of the lovely staff who have given me a very warm welcome to the reserve.

My research stems from psychological studies which demonstrate the importance of symmetry as a tool for quick visual object recognition and identification. In other words, symmetrical objects or patterns tend to be recognised faster than asymmetrical objects. My research aimed to provide evidence for this in animals by looking at how wing patterns of moths are observed by birds. I conducted two experiments at Matuku: one which looks at how wing folding behaviour in moths may disrupt the symmetrical patterns of their wings, and the second experiment which observes how the orientation of a moth at rest may influence the perception of its symmetry. I hypothesised that moths which don’t fold their wings are more predated by birds. This is because the symmetry in moth wing patterns makes them more obvious to predators, especially in the forest as their backgrounds tend to be asymmetrical (making symmetrical patterns stand out!). I also hypothesised that moths which rest vertically are more predated because their symmetry is more obvious compared to moths which rest horizontally or diagonally. To test these hypotheses, I carefully crafted fake moth models out of paper and dough which were edible and harmless to birds and placed them on different trees at Matuku. Over a couple of months, I monitored the survival of these models under bird predation, taking note of which models were eaten sooner than others. I also conducted general bird surveys through 5-minute bird counts to gauge the diversity and frequency of birds at Matuku.

From my results, It seems that one of two scenarios are likely: one is that moths which have extremely folded wings are actually more predated (not what I was predicting!). It could also be that my moths are being affected by stabilising selection pressures. This means that bird predation is higher in moths with perfectly symmetrical and (at the same time) extremely asymmetrical wing patterns. However, this is just a theory, and I will be doing more research to justify my reasoning.

Rebecca joined Matuku Link in 2023, after volunteering with our education programme for a year. She grew up locally exploring the Waitākere Ranges and West Coast beaches. Now she shares her love of the natural world with her three children.

Rebecca brings her experience from 10 years of child education, fundraising, and event organisation with Playcentre Aotearoa. More recently she has been involved with setting up an environmentally conscious online business that inspired families to explore nature-play while being kind to the world around them. Rebecca is also involved in running the Kiwi Conservation Club in Waitakere for the most junior members of our local Forest & Bird.

As Lead Educator at Matuku Link, Rebecca leads the development of our education programme and resources while delivering hands-on learning experiences for visiting students. She enjoys creating opportunities for young people to connect with nature, explore environmental issues, and discover the unique wildlife and ecosystems of our wetlands.

In addition to education  Rebecca also manages our Matuku Link shop.

Contact Rebecca at shop@matukulink.org.nz

Since November 2025 Matuku Link is supported by Project Rise, the philanthropic project of the Dawoodi Bohras Auckland. The Dawoodi Bohras are a global, peaceful Muslim community, numbering around one million, with origins in Western India and a strong presence in over 40 countries. Led by His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin (the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq (unrestricted missionary), Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, based in Mumbai, they follow the Fatimi Ismaili school of thought, focusing on education, trade, environmental responsibility, and maintaining a unique, close-knit cultural identity.

The community is actively involved in business, education, and social development, maintaining a strong, globally interconnected network. They are one of the largest food bank and hunger relief providers in the world, with the aim “nobody will go to sleep hungry”. 

Matuku Link is proud to share these community values, especially on education and environmental responsibility. John Sumich, Annalily van den Broeke and Grac Coyle recently joined their Iftar – the breaking of the 15 hour fast as part of Ramadan. It was a joyful occasion with beautiful food shared and a great opportunity to strengthen the bonds between our organisations and learn more.

Did you know: 

• They are Shia Muslims who adhere to the Quran and Sharia, performing 5 daily prayers, fasting, and valuing community, education, and women’s empowerment. Originating from Gujarat, India, they are historically a community of traders.
• They have a unique language called Lisan ud-Dawat (derived from Arabic, Persian, and Gujarati) with a distinct, modest dress code: men wear white outfits (dopi), and women wear a two-piece colorful dress called Rida.
• They emphasize being law-abiding, loyal citizens in their host countries, with a strong focus on philanthropy (Project Rise) and environmental sustainability.
  Community Life: They are known for their community-sharing, often dining together from a large plate called a thal.