New Plymouth students and residents are already experiencing benefits from Towards Predator-Free Taranaki, as residents unite to support biodiversity by removing predators - the biggest project of its kind in New Zealand.
It’s less than a year since Taranaki’s community started working together in June 2018, but work is well underway restoring biodiversity by removing rats, stoats and possums from rural, urban and conservation land in a long-term region-wide project, supported by $11.7 million from Predator Free 2050 Ltd.
Towards Predator-Free Taranaki Project Manager Toby Shanley says it’s exciting to see social benefits for many urban residents and school students are already emerging due to the community’s work; including wide-spread urban trapping in New Plymouth district, region-wide predator and biodiversity monitoring, new trapping technology supporting large-scale rural work and New Zealand’s first large-scale zero possum operation across urban, rural and conservation land.
New Plymouth district resident Sam Mortenson, of Oākura, says she’s surprised at how quickly it’s uniting neighbourhoods with residents getting behind the project.
New Plymouth teachers are describing the impact of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki as transformational for some students’ learning.
New Plymouth Boys High School Principal Paul Veric says the work has real meaning and importance to some students, who for the first time, are truly engaged and passionate about school work.
“Our boys love trapping, but it’s more than that – they understand the importance of why they’re trapping and what it’s doing to support Taranaki’s biodiversity,” Mr Veric says.
So far 29 Taranaki schools have joined Towards Predator-Free Taranaki. Primary and high school students of all ages are involved by making trap tunnels, or selling traps to their community, monitoring and recording information about predators, biodiversity and trapping catches, or analysing data.
New Plymouth teacher Julie Neilson, from Woodleigh School, says she’s seen student’s enthusiasm and learning increase with the hands on approach that Towards Predator-Free Taranaki provides both within the school environment and in their own backyards.
Sean Zieltjes, Taranaki Mounga Project Manager, says it’s great to see communities connecting through the work to reduce pest animals as part of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki.
“The passion that reducing pest numbers has created amongst youth, and the employment opportunities which are being taken up in conservation and related fields, is amazing,” Mr Zieltjes says.
Mr Shanley says there’s been an anecdotal increase of Kaka sightings in New Plymouth, and more reports of gold-stripe geckos in backyards, with some urban trappers finding them in their garden for the first time, but it’s likely coincidental as people focus on the landscape and wildlife in their area.
“It’s exciting to see these early outcomes for students and residents. We know that reducing rats, stoats and possums to low numbers will make the single-greatest difference to Taranaki’s biodiversity, but this social impact is a valuable additional outcome of the project too. It’s fantastic the enthusiasm we are seeing so early on, “Mr Shanley says.
The increase in trapping around New Plymouth district, however, is based on hard data; more than 2000 rat traps in backyards, another 1000 rat and stoat traps on public reserves and parks and 2100 traps are being rolled out on rural land.
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