Project Tongariro president Paul Green says that's a huge step forward in awareness from 10 years ago, when only half a dozen would have bothered to come to a similar event.
Mr Green and Greening Taupo co-ordinator Robyn Ellis say while the meeting was a starting point to gauge interest, it's the next steps forward that will be crucial.
Mr Green says while there are already groups such as at Pukawa, Whakamoenga Point and Kinloch working on pest control around the district at the moment, and individuals who have their own traps, all the dots have to be joined up, or the areas where the different groups are working connected somehow.
He said it was clear from the meeting that people wanted to become involved.
"A lot of people there were wanting to learn more about trapping. A couple of the outcomes we picked up and suggestions that we want to work towards implementing were setting up a Facebook page as a vehicle for news and information, looking at holding best practice workshops so that people can learn, those were a couple of stand out things."
But Paul and Robyn were keen to emphasise that Project Tongariro and Greening Taupo can't carry out pest control projects themselves, although they can act as facilitators, as both groups are fully occupied with other projects.
"Project Tongariro doesn't have the resources and people to do more than we're already doing so we've got to the stage where we've initiated ideas and getting people and groups to pick those up," Mr Green says.
Robyn says Greening Taupo has priority sites that need predator control that it could steer people towards, and it could also get trap-makers such as Goodnature, which makes humane automatic traps to come in and run pest control workshops.
People could also do things like adopt a trap to look after, or adopt a hectare that they will control pests on. There's lots of good ideas.
Priority areas include Taupo's green corridors such as Wairakei Dr, the Western Bays and the Opepe Reserve.
Longer term, the goal would be to encourage people in Taupo town to also begin controlling pests, either on their own or by forming local groups.
However what's also really needed are people to help get the short-term actions kicked off, Robyn says.
"I've been the contact for getting these actions into place but it would be good to get some champions out there who want to take it forward because that's what community involvement is all about really, just getting out there and getting into it."
You can find the Predator Free Taupo page on Facebook.
