Red-crowned parakeets (Kakariki) are now breeding on a New Zealand island after a 100-year absence.
This was accomplished via a combination of reforestation with native trees, reintroduction of the species, plus removal of invasive predatory mammals (introduced by humans over a century ago).
The Hauraki Gulf is becoming a worldwide example of how restoring key sites can help surrounding islands too — it happens so often here that we tend to lose perspective.
Motutapu Restoration Trust chair Chris Fletcher says that when Auckland artist Emily Karaka and her daughter planted the first of the now 500,000 trees on Motutapu, they dreamed this might happen one day.
This article appeared in 2009, but news like this never gets old.