Thanks to the protection by the Crown 132 years ago, most of Everett Park has never been logged so is in its original natural state, but its forest suffers from browsing by possums, while native birdlife is under continual threat from mustelids, rodents and feral cats.
The collaboration is set to rectify this.
Baseline monitoring has already begun in the Everett Park bush, with the children of nearby Norfolk School assisting in the placement of several lines of tracking tunnels and chew cards to help gauge the numbers of rats and possums in the reserve.
ETEC staff and volunteers will use the results from this surveying to plan and implement a trapping programme.
"There's plenty of other work to be done as part of this project," said ETEC conservation manager Kat Strang.
"Chew cards and cameras were set up to establish possum, mustelid and feral cat abundance. ETEC staff conducted five-minute bird counts to establish the amount of birdlife in the bush and, on top of that, we will be using other methods to check on numbers of reptiles and, hopefully, the presence of native bats.
"Once we've gathered all that information, we can then get stuck into the necessary work to protect all our native species."
Pukerangiora chairman Anaru White says the hapū are delighted to be able to partner with ETEC in this conservation project.
"Everett Park forms part of a wider cultural landscape that is very important to our hapū," he said, adding that the reserve is adjacent to historic Pukerangiora Pā. "Anything we can do to help preserve and enhance the biodiversity of the area will be beneficial."
DoC New Plymouth operations manager Gareth Hopkins says the collaboration with ETEC and Pukerangiora is a positive move.
"It is great to have greater community involvement in looking after Everett Park, which has high biodiversity values and is an important scenic reserve asset for Taranaki."
Up until now, the ETEC's field operations focus has been on 13,000ha of land further to the east between Okoki and Matau, where pest control operations are resulting in strong growth in numbers of kiwi. This conservation effort is proving so successful that the area is now the stronghold of the North Island western brown kiwi.
Although Everett Park Scenic Reserve is some distance away, located about halfway between Inglewood and the conservation estate, ETEC sees its inclusion into its operational strategy as a logical addition to its activities, says general manager Rebecca Somerfield.
"It is all very much in keeping with our desire to take a collaborative approach with other parties to protect and improve the ecosystem and biodiversity of the eastern part of Taranaki region," she said.
"Everett Park, being close to our urban areas, is also accessible for the Taranaki community, and therefore it will provide the opportunity for a wider group of people to be involved in voluntary conservation activities. We're hoping this new project will help attract new people."
