Waipara predators beware
A small village in North Canterbury has big dreams of restoring a 31ha reserve to a predator-free paradise in which native flora and fauna can flourish.
The Waipara Environmental Trapping Association (WETA) was established following a community meeting at the end of May, attended by 50 people.
From there, a group of local volunteers, equipped with 50 possum and stoat traps supplied by the Department of Conservation (DOC), has begun the fight against the predator in the Tirimoana Reserve.
WETA spokesperson Nicola Toki said Mt Cass, in the Hurunui district, was the most significant limestone ecological area in the South Island and the reserve was home to a myriad threatened species found nowhere else.
‘‘It also has moa bones and kiwi from some time in the distant past,’’ she said.
‘‘The Tirimoana Reserve is a treasure trove of threatened species, including plants and trees, and we know that there are endangered New Zealand falcons, kereru and geckos in the reserve.’’
The WETA trapping group has a dual aim of trapping in the Tirimoana Reserve to benefit existing native wildlife but also to encourage Waipara (and other North Canterbury) households to get involved in backyard trapping so that nature can flourish in local communities.
Toki said the group was excited by the prospect of a predator-free Waipara. In a similar example in the Wellington suburb of Crofton Downs the local community got rats down to zero detection level, she said.
‘‘That was by just one in five households having a rat trap in their backyard.
‘‘The collective impact of every household, village, town and reserve doing their bit is enormous.’’
WETA was keen to help any local residents in the village who were keen to set up traps in their backyards.
‘‘We just want to bring back some of our unique flora and fauna to the district and the locals are raring to go,’’ Toki said.
‘‘Personally I’d love to see tui back here.’’
The group was also keen to hear from interested businesses in the district that might like to support the programme with traps or funding, as well as anyone interested in joining WETA.
For updates on trapping success, and to find out more about the project, join the WETA Facebook page.