We are pleased to announce the addition of 10 communities to our Kiwibank Predator Free Community programme — taking the total number of communities to 55.

The latest round of funding was highly competitive, with an overwhelming number of applications. The majority of applications were from well organised, highly motivated communities wanting to make a difference in their backyards.

Predator Free Lyall Bay.
The quality of applications in this round shows the growing number of communities wanting to get involved in the predator free New Zealand vision and how keen people are to do their bit by trapping in their backyard. Achieving a predator free New Zealand is a huge challenge and it will only be made possible by everyone working together and doing their bit. We’ve all got a role to play.

Pest-free Point Chevalier, Auckland
They plan to improve the native biodiversity of Pt Chevalier by greatly reducing the density of introduced predators. While there is some trapping and baiting conducted in parks and reserves around Pt Chevalier there is no organised trapping within the bulk of the peninsula where people live. They’re aiming aims to get one rat trap in every fifth backyard within 2 years and eradicate rats, possums and stoats from Pt Chevalier within 5 years.

“When residents start spotting kākā in the trees and fernbirds in the wetlands we’ll know that we are moving in the right direction.”

Tatau Pounamu, Rotorua
Aims to engage their community in the wellbeing of the natural environment by implementing sustainable environmental projects led by schools, young people, hapu and community. Their community is located on the eastern side of Rotorua and includes the suburbs of Lynmore, Ngapuna, Owhata, Te Ngae, Hannahs Bay, Holdens Bay, Rotokawa and Tikitere.

Tatau Pounamu will be targeting 500 households, 7 early childhood centres, 5 schools and 5 maraes.

The Karioi Backyard Hub, Raglan
The Karioi Backyard Hub is run by A Rocha Aotearoa NZ, which also leads the Karioi Project (a 2,300 hectare predator control programme on Karioi Maunga to protect seabirds) and delivers Environmental Education programmes to students and youth in Raglan

“Our aim is to significantly expand the Karioi Backyard Hub with the aim of bringing the dawn chorus back to Raglan/Whaingaroa by creating a predator free town.

Bring Back the Native Birds Group, Kinloch, Lake Taupo
Bring Back the Native Birds Group is a local pest control group attached to the Kinloch Community Association. Kinloch is a growing community on the northern shores of Lake Taupo, 20 kilometres from Taupo township. In the past it has been predominantly a holiday destination, however the permanent population continues to increase dramatically and there are now over 1700 properties in the Kinloch Village community. This has seen an increase in residents available and willing to support the efforts to make Kinloch predator free and support bird life.

Predator Free Bluff Hill, Napier
They are aiming to achieve a ‘predator free’ bluff hill community within 5 years, to have a committed and educated resident community and to have the Bluff Hill programme spur on similar programmes for the adjacent Hospital Hill and then into the flatter areas of Hawke’s Bay.

Predator Free Normandale, Lower Hutt
This group is aiming to have a trap in every second home around Normandale and see kakariki, miromiro, kaka and more bellbird joining in with the tui and kereru already present.

“We want to encourage the good work that Zealandia and Matui/Somes Island do and give those spreading birds a safe place to eat/ rest and eventually live, especially now as this year we have had sighting of kaka and kakariki in the neighbourhood. We also want to keep our freshwater kōura safe and see lizards basking in the sun, so our kids can see what we saw growing up.”

Predator Free Lyall Bay, Wellington
Lyall Bay is a coastal suburb and a geographical barrier to Miramar Peninsula. Predator Free Lyall Bay’s goal is to get 25% of households trapping.

Their rohe covers the Wellington suburbs of Lyall Bay, Melrose and Rongotai, with plans to expand into Kilbirnie.

These suburbs are geographically critical to a Predator Free Wellington, as they are a natural buffer-zone for Miramar Peninsula, which is aiming to eradicate rats this year.

Pipers Reserve Trapping Group, Nelson
They are currently involved in the trapping at Pipers Reserve and are planning to extend their trapping efforts to their own and neighbourhood backyards.

“We all live in the Tahuna Hills/Pipers Reserve area and . our ultimate aim is to bring more birdlife (in particular larger passerines such as bellbirds, tui, kereru) back into the Pipers Reserve/Tahuna Hills area.”

With the increase in passerines coming out of the fenced Brook Sanctuary and the predator control being carried out by the Nelson City Council and other community groups as part of the Nelson halo project, their neighbourhood trapping programme will help by providing a corridor for birds through to the Tahuna Hills and ultimately the coast.

Predator Free Halswell, Christchurch
This group encompasses the Halswell and Kennedys Bush areas of South-West Christchurch. The group aims to increase the bird and insect life in Halswell Quarry and surrounding areas and has ambitious goals to re-introduce tui and potentially kaka to the Kennedys Bush area. They are also keen to foster an increase in existing populations of bellbird, kereru, silvereye.

By creating a buffer of backyard traps around the quarry, Predator Free Halswell hopes to supplement the trapping currently going on in the quarry inself. Longer term they want to extend out across Halswell where there is a lot of green space and restoration work going on which would also benefit from backyard trapping. These efforts will, in turn, provide good support for the Predator Free Port Hills work led by the Summit Road Society and, ultimately will contribute to a Predator Free Banks Peninsula.

Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary (Open VUE), Dunedin
A community group in North East Valley, Dunedin and includes the suburbs of Opoho and Pine Hill as well as North East Valley.

“Our community would like to become an open urban ecosanctuary where native species thrive in an urban environment. Our vision is to bring kaka and other native species back to the valley. Our goal is to have our community see their own urban backyard as a small ecosanctuary that supports our native species.”

Open VUE has ongoing projects with local schools, educating their community on how to encourage native birds and other species into their own backyards – what to feed them, what native species to plant to encourage more species and biodiversity in their backyard.

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