"The first month of the role has been about establishing relationships among the different groups, especially in Hamilton where there are so many people already doing some really cool stuff," she says.
"There are also people who want to get involved, but just don't know how to get started – and that's what I am here to do."
Ms Barlow's goal is to get groups to a point where they are well organised and sustainable, and don't need her ongoing support.
"Once they're set up, they can do it themselves."
She's working with a new group forming in Tamahere, where there's great conservation enthusiasm among residents. New groups need to work out which pest species they're targeting, and how they can be controlled, she says.
"Currently the main focus in Cambridge has been to hand out traps to residents to trap in their backyards. Residents in Te Koo Utu Lake, Blackies Reserve, Cambridge Community Marae, Moon Spring and other areas are currently operating trapping programmes, but we can now extend those and provide better support now I am in my role as Community Coordinator.
"Getting neighbourhood groups started and schools involved is also high on our list," she says.
Working with stakeholder organisations is vital.
"If we work collaboratively, with Department of Conservation and councils, there's a better chance of succeeding," she says.
Predator-Free Hamilton trustee Kemble Pudney says the creation of Karen's role is the first fruit of collaboration between predator-free groups in Hamilton and Cambridge. It also builds on momentum gained from other Waikato conservation projects residents are aware of, such as Project Halo, and work on Mt Pirongia and Maungatautari.
"One of the prime drivers or motivations has been the bird 'spillover' effect into Cambridge from Maungatautari - bellbird, tūī and kererū are regulars and kākā are also seen more. We want to build on that," he says.
It's the same in Hamilton, where the city's residents now see tūī in their trees, coming into the urban environment to feed.
"The health benefits of contact with nature are well established, and with the river and gully systems Hamilton has great potential to provide that experience for its people," Mr Pudney says.
"Our native ecology includes birds, insects and lizards, and if we don't control introduced predators such as rats, possums and stoats we will only ever get part of the experience - and without birds to pollinate and spread seed our native plants will struggle as well."
Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage this week launched the Predator Free 2050 strategy, and the expansion of Predator-free Hamilton's work is one of the many community success stories taking us 'one step closer' to a Predator Free New Zealand.
The Predator Free 2050 Strategy (PF2050) sets out a framework over the next 30 years for New Zealand to address the current biodiversity crisis to achieve a future Aotearoa, flourishing with abundant native wildlife and forests.
Locals can join regional collaborations – like those driven by Predator-Free Hamilton - and have a say over how the areas in which they live, work and play will become predator free. Collective action is critical to the success of the PF objective.
Multiple agencies and community groups working together will make real differences.
The Predator Free movement has galvanised thousands of New Zealanders into active support for a predator free New Zealand by 2050, she said.
Flourishing, abundant native wildlife and forests galvanises those already committed. As more people join the movement, the positive impact becomes greater.
PF 2050 also presents an opportunity to strengthen partnerships between whānau, hapū and iwi, and the Government, and Māori values, principles and practices and knowledge are integral to the Predator Free kaupapa, she said.
