Otaki TodayA push to make Te Horo a happier place is about to get under way with a campaign to reduce threats to native wildlife.
Trap makers, from left, Wayne McCausland (left) and Tom Gillespie (third from left) with Predator Free Te Horo coordinators Quentin Long (centre) and John Draper. Photo supplied
Predator Free Te Horo will target introduced pests by distributing traps at a free sausage sizzle outside the Te Horo Hall from 11am-2pm on Saturday, June 21.
“The goal is to bring more birdsong to the village and the district,” says John Draper, who is coordinating Predator Free Te Horo with Quentin Long and Maddy West. “It would be huge if the kākā and kākāriki from Kapiti Island could be enticed back to the district.
“They are not here because there are too many rats and stoats around.”
To get established, Predator Free Te Horo has received funding from the Predator Free NZ Trust, Nikau Foundation and Simplicity Foundation. The funding will provide 30 rat traps to be used around homes in Te Horo.
The project has also received funds from Nikau Foundation’s Bice Tennyson Endowment Fund and The Leseberg Fund that will provide traps to be used on lifestyle and farm properties in Te Horo.
“By working alongside the successful Predator Free Te Horo Beach group and its extension up to old SH1, there is now the potential to create a zone from the beach to the foothills of the Tararuas where native birds can re-establish,” John says.
Predator Free Te Horo will not only target rats – it has about 50 traps to capture weasels and stoats east of old SH1. The traps have been built by volunteers using timber donated by Zero Waste Ōtaki and funding from Nikau Foundation and several local residents for the trap mechanisms.
It’s hoped more grants and donations will allow more traps to be installed.
James Willcocks, the driving force behind making Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula pest free, will be at the June 21 meeting to offer his experience on getting a successful trapping programme under way.
To be eligible for a free rat or stoat trap from Predator Free Te Horo residents must live on or east of old SH1. Those living west of old SH1 can contact Predator Free Te Horo Beach (predatorfreetehorobeach@gmail.com) to join its trapping programme.
For more, contact pftehoro@gmail.com or phone John Draper (022 530 2566), Quentin Long (027 440 3843) or Maddy West (022 323 1912)
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