Sisters and members of the Pirongia Kererū Club, Ruby (left), 12, and Amy, 11, check for good spots to set Predator Free Pirongia traps near the Community Centre as part of their community service. Photo / Dean Taylor
Sisters and members of the Pirongia Kererū Club, Ruby (left), 12, and Amy, 11, check for good spots to set Predator Free Pirongia traps near the Community Centre as part of their community service. Photo / Dean Taylor
Backyard trapping through the Predator Free movement is taking off in Pirongia thanks to several events attracting community participation.
The Pirongia group is part of Predator Free Te Awamutu, Pirongia and Kihikihi — in turn part of the nationwide movement to keep pests such as rats, mice, stoats, weasels, ferrets and possums under control for the safety of our native species.
The groups are part of the Taiea te Taiao ecological corridor.
The project aims to link two of the region’s most spectacular maunga - Maungatautari and Pirongia - via an ecological corridor between the waterways - the Mangapiko and Ngāparierua streams - which flow from the two maunga.
Backyard trapping concentrates on rats, although the traps and tunnels being used can catch other pest species too.
Volunteers also place, bait and check the traps. The Predator Free movement encourages all participants to register their traps and catches on the trap.nz website.
Joining the community spaces team in Pirongia is the Kererū Club, a group established for mainly homeschooled youth of the village where they are encouraged to participate in volunteer activities.
The group has been involved in the Christmas Hampers project and Poppy Day, and is now placing and monitoring traps at community sites around the village.
On Tuesday last week, they set six traps in community spaces, and within a week had recorded six rat kills.
Volunteers turned out to a tunnel-making workshop to support backyard trapping in the village.
Haakma is also running some innovative services in Pirongia to get more people involved in the project.
Those wanting to get serious about possums or stoats can rent to buy the more expensive Flipping Timmy or Doc200 traps required to deal to these pests.
There are also two hire schemes: hire a trap and hire a service.
Hire a trap provides a Flipping Timmy or Doc200; volunteers set it up, bait it and teach the hirer in its use.
Hire a service provides volunteers to set up, install, bait and monitor traps weekly for a donation.
Tunnels receive the final touch at the Priongia tunnel-making workshop.
Haakma says these are all volunteer initiatives to encourage backyard trapping and enable every household to contribute to the local environs by reducing predator numbers.
Profits go towards purchasing more hire traps and installing community traps.
She reminds all communities involved in the Predator Free project that traps and baits are approved as humane, and the tunnels provide protection from accidentally trapping cats; they also deter birds.
Haakma says if members of the public see traps in public spaces they are asked to not touch or disturb them because they are being monitored regularly by volunteers.
Backyard trapping monthly draw winner Clyde Walton receives a box of spray-free vegetables from Ali Ruthe, of Little Pirongia Farms, while she checks one of the new trap tunnels made by Predator Free Pirongia volunteers.
Another addition is the monthly draw for a prize pack for trappers registered on trap.nz.
The February winner was Clyde Walton, who won a box of spray-free vegetables from Ali Ruthe, of Little Pirongia Farms.
