City Sanctuary heads to Woodhaugh and Glenleith

The days may be short and cold, but the City Sanctuary team is keeping busy! Trap catches are high during winter as predator species look for new food sources. It has been all go in Dunedin’s urban reserves and backyards as the team pushed on with its vision for a thriving City Sanctuary where native wildlife (and communities) can thrive.

The team has had an exciting amount of possum catches this season. They hit 1,000 in November last year and are currently sitting at 1,953! They also have some urban mustelid catches on the map with a stoat, two ferrets, and two weasels.

The team nailed a recent trap building event at Chingford Park where they chatted with locals about the project. More than 100 people attended the event and brought inspiring levels of enthusiasm and interest. In the afternoon, almost 40 tunnels were built by new backyard trappers!

Chingford Park made for a scenic spot to build some rat trap boxes!

The northern suburbs are very much a focus. City Sanctuary wants to ensure a robust possum trap network in backyards and reserves to keep possums at low levels going forward. The area is right on the boundary for the Halo Project, so creates an extra buffer to help them get possum numbers to zero. The goal is to create a safe flight path for our native birds from Orokonui Ecosanctuary, across the West Harbour into the city. If you live in Dalmore, Liberton, Pine Hill, North East Valley, or Ōpoho, sign up to host a possum trap.

The team is also shifting its focus to Woodhaugh and Glenleith. The Leith Valley has a special history in Dunedin and holds some important pockets of beautiful remnant podocarp forest that provide vital pathways of habitat to draw native birds into the city. The goal is to get around 75 possum traps in the area, so if you live in Woodhaugh and Leith Valley or have friends that do, get them to sign up and host a trap!

Enthusiasm for the Predator Free Dunedin vision is spreading with two new trapping groups in Dunedin! Aroha Kaikorai Valley is a new environmental group with a vision to make the valley a healthy and happy ecosystem for the community and native wildlife. They are keen to help residents and businesses get involved in trapping to support City Sanctuary's work.

Further south,  another trapping group is kicking off — the Brighton Trapping Project! It is a community initiative aiming to kick-start backyard trapping in Brighton. City Sanctuary joined them for a meeting recently to chat with interested locals about best practice trapping and how to get involved.

It’s exciting to support groups who are igniting the vision for a Predator Free Dunedin in areas where City Sanctuary isn't currently active. Across the wider Predator Free Dunedin project, you can find communities working towards the vision on our “Find a Group” page.

More than 100 dedicated volunteers regularly give their time to help rid the city of introduced predators. They help clear and re-bait traps in urban reserves, deliver letterbox packs to thousands of households, lend a hand with events, fix trap boxes, cut trap lines, build nest boxes, package endless packs of chew cards, and much more.

Together City Sanctuary’s volunteers have put in more than 7,000 hours over the past two years. It's been lovely to hear reports of new friendships blossoming, special wildlife sightings, and increased fitness levels!