Traps are now active in many of Dunedin’s urban reserves, thanks to Predator Free Dunedin’s City Sanctuary project.

They are targeting possums, rats and stoats across a collection of urban reserves in Dunedin — creating a corridor of habitat for native wildlife to move safely through the city.

A diverse range of volunteers and community groups are getting involved by adopting a traps line or even whole reserves. After being trained up, they check the trap lines regularly, ensure catches are disposed of and make sure traps are freshly baited and working properly.

The collection of priority reserves was chosen for their biodiversity value, along with how close they are to the operating area for the Halo Project, another Predator Free Dunedin partner.

The programme sets a good model for how other reserves in Dunedin could be managed. Once a reserve is handed over to volunteers, it allows staff to start activating other reserves in Dunedin — getting us closer to the vision for a Predator Free Dunedin.

Chingford Park

The Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary is leading trapping efforts in Chingford Park — a popular destination for North East Valley residents The group also run working bees where they plant natives and remove weeds like banana passionfruit.

The City Sanctuary team has also been running a  camera trial to assess the effectiveness of the Goodnature A24 Chirp attachment and test of different bait types for their appeal. The  bluetooth device (chirp) records how many times the trap has gone off. Camera observations will confirm if traps have been triggered by a real kill or if the trap has been triggered by something else!

Dalmore Reserve

Wild Dalmore Reserve is a collection of neighbours and friends who are working to restore Dalmore Reserve. They run working bees to clean up the reserve, remove pest plants and get native trees in the ground. Since August last year, they have planted more than 800 natives thanks to support from Dunedin City Council. Now, with the addition of predator control, they hope to see more native birds return to the area.

Botanic Garden

The bushy areas of Dunedin’s Botanic Garden are home to a diverse range of plants and support many native birds. Possums are a problem across the garden, who have taken a strong liking to the magnolias and rhododendrons as well as the native forest that is enjoyed by many.

In the past, contractors have done night shooting in the garden, taking out an average of 30 possums each year. Now, a collaboration between staff and volunteers means a permanent network of traps has been installed across the garden and into nearby Lovelock Bush. Together, they have already removed 157 possums and 128 rats!

Ross Creek Reserve

Ross Creek Reserve is a haven for native wildlife — home to South Island robin/kakaruwai and several nesting pairs of rifleman/tītipounamu, plus ruru/morepork. Now, local residents in Maori Hill are checking a network of possum, rat and stoat traps across the reserve.  

Want to get involved?

City Sanctuary is looking for more trappers to help check trap lines throughout the Town Belt, Ross Creek and Signal Hill. If you’re interested in helping protect Dunedin’s urban wildlife, love working with others, and aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty then sign up!

Note: Rat numbers may be significantly higher but only pests visible under Goodnature A24 traps are recorded.