Ms Bonar describes herself as a conduit for the community.
"I was driven by seeking to understand why we were being shut out - why our voices weren't being heard," she said.
The fight to protect the tree began when a property developer's resource consent team requested non-notification.
"Council gave permission to the developer to cut down the trees without consultation or supervision," she said. "I thought, I just can't let this happen.
"We'd already spent over $20,000 of our own money to try to get lots of different experts on board.
"I sat down and I thought, okay, I need to give this one more try, and see if there's another avenue."
That's when her idea for the Facebook page arose, alongside the petition. The community started to engage with the page and the campaign received nationwide media coverage.
"It was centred around a principled message that was apolitical and didn't polarise one sector of the community."
Michael Tavares, who spent four days up the tree in protest, was also a big part of the campaign.
"We were a community that were law-abiding citizens and had been pushed to stand up for our citizens, taonga and environment, our neighbours and our children."
After Mr Tavares had been in the trees for four days, and the campaign coverage had grown, the developer decided he would preserve the kauri.
"The community were vindicated," Ms Bonar said.
Despite such a successful campaign, she hopes it's her last.
"As far as me being involved in any other protest situations, I hope we never have to climb any more trees. We shouldn't have to. I think if there is one thing I would like to do, it's be in a position to influence change within bureaucracies over what communities need."
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