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From left, Nick Simich, Stewart Halliwell and Ian Byrne (plus Maggie the dog) getting ready to lay the first Matakana trapline in December.
The trend for local communities to band together to fight predator mammals is continuing in Matakana, with the formation of a new group and the laying of a new trapline.
Pest Free Matakana members have sourced and made 48 rat traps, 25 Timms possum traps and 25 DOC200 traps for stoats, rats and hedgehogs, with the support of Takatu LandCare and its community pest management controller, Ngaire Wallen, plus Matakana ITM and Auckland Council.
The first trapline was laid around Diamond Jubilee Park and Matakana Pony Club on December 21 and rats are already being caught, with the next line planned for the Matakana River bank this month. It is hoped that all the traps will be laid and working by autumn.
Volunteers are being sought to check and set the traps every few weeks. Anyone who can help should email Ian Byrne on ihbyrne@xtra.co.nz.
Takatu LandCare is an organisation of volunteers and local environmental groups that was set up in 2014 with a vision to make the Takatu area and Tawharanui Peninsula a pest-free zone. Last month, the group trapped its 4000th pest – a rat – and it has distributed more than 2000 eggs as trap baits. Since Ngaire’s appointment in 2019, several new community pest-free groups have been established in the wider area.
