Whangarei Heads Landcare Forum approached Heather to create an illustrated kiwi character which would strike a chord with people in the area. The scratchy character she created has become a much-loved champion of the Backyard Kiwi project and the public face of one of the Forum’s most well known projects through the road signs strategically positioned around the Heads area.
The Backyard Kiwi prints are exclusive to Burning Issues Gallery, and with each sale of a print a donation is made to Backyard Kiwi. We were very honoured to be asked to name one of the two chicks hatched in September 2019 by Moa - we named one "Toa", meaning warrior or brave, the residents whose land his burrow is on named the other "Koa" or happy. The hatching of Moa's two chicks concided with the launch of Heathers' new book "Mr Kiwi has an important job"  and her new print  "Kiwi Mates".