A pest and predator free Horomaka/Banks Peninsula by the year 2050?

…That is the bold goal, the vision of active community groups and agency partners of the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust (BPCT): private land owners, Summit Road Society ‘Predator Free Port Hills’, Christchurch City Council, Department of Conservation, etc.

Community Voice campaigns through 2019 for increased understanding and support of this exciting naturalist objective – pursued with Environment Canterbury planning and many others’ work on the ground. It is hands-on volunteer work making the difference, in the main, which could always use wider community and central government help.

We want to see sound, inclusive work with property owners to ensure pet and stock safety at all times, for eliminating pest opossums, rodents, mustelids, goats, pigs, deer and weeds wherever we can – with minimal or no use of poisons.

Post forest-mast year and to the north, where green volunteer networks may be less strong, this winter’s pest wave is proving negative to pet animals: Family pets in Auckland becoming unwitting victims of growing battle against rats (TV1 News, 4 Aug 2019). By working together, pet owners and environmentalists can enable safer, more successful alternatives for pest control (with less poisoning).

List of active community trapping initiatives within or near Ōwhanga Constituency, mostly on predatorfreenz.org and/or trap.nz frameworks:

Beckenham Predator Free
Bowenvale Predator Free
Cashmere Predator-Free
Cracroft Predator Free
Covenants (BPCT)
Drayton Reserve Volunteers
Head street traps + 12 Head St + Phil Esplanade
Jollies Bush
Little River Trap Library (Little River Wairewa Community Trust)*
Living Springs Trust
Lower Cashmere Predator Free
Mahoe-Nui Lower
Mahoe-Nui Upper
Mt Vernon Predator Free
Okuti Trap Network
Omahu Bush
Orton Bradley Park
Pest Free Moncks Bay
Port Saddle Restoration Project (BPCT)
Predator Free – Cass Bay
Predator Free Ernle Clark
Predator free Halswell
Predator Free Opawaho
Predator Free Port Hills – Diamond Harbour
Predator Free Port Hills – Head of the Harbour
Predator Free Port Hills – Heathcote Valley
Predator Free Port Hills – Hillsborough
Predator Free Port Hills – Huntsbury
Predator Free Port Hills – Lyttelton
Predator Free Port Hills – Mount Pleasant
Predator Free Port Hills – St Martins
Predator Free Port Hills – Tai Tapu
Predator Free Port Hills – Urumau Reserve and Port Saddle
Predator Free Port Hills – Westmorland
Predator Free Port Hills – Woolston
Predator Free Redcliffs
Predator-free Spreydon
Predator Free Sumner
Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust
REDCLIFFS, THE HEIGHTS
Redpossum
Shapiro family
Somerfield Predator Free
Stubenvoll Family
Te Manu Waiata/The Bird Song Project – Sumner Bays
Thorrington Predator Free
Trees for Canterbury
WAINUI SR
Wildside Project (BPCT)
Woodside
Woolly Valley

Help to deal with any misplaced cats is available at SPCA, Cats Protection League, Cat Rescue, RedZoneCats and Cats Unloved (2012 story), locally.

* Tui population soars RNZ, 29 Apr 2016 + Possums, rats, stoats caught out by ‘pest trap library’ Metro News, 15 Sep 2017 + ‘Trap library’ helps Canterbury locals protect native birds free of charge 1 NEWS, 13 Jan 2018?

Backyard trapping Department of Conservation guide & Animal welfare for traps
Get involved Predator Free NZ Trust

Broad social and cross-party support is needed to safely protect biodiversity and eliminate pest animals – a very positive sign here: Federated Farmers backs key themes of biodiversity strategy (Newshub, 5 Aug 2019) re: Government seeks feedback on biodiversity strategy & Leadership ‘lacking’ in new conservation strategy? – RNZ, 5 Aug 2019

Student grants available – Predator Free 2050 Ltd, 23 Sept 2019

[Draft, more words to come…]

Kia ora, kia kaha.