Over 140 people attended the Northland Pest Control Workshop at Waimate North at the weekend (August 17).
Representatives from over 50 community-led projects took part, demonstrating the growing interest from Northlanders in taking action to keep predators of native wildlife at bay. A good number of those 140 people were ‘Kiwi Coasters’, and almost every project involved in the Kiwi Coast was there.
These numbers demonstrate the continued strong interest by Northlanders in taking action to look after our natural treasures – including kiwi.
Key speaker James Russell from Predator Free NZ spoke of NZ’s world-leading work in eradicating rats from offshore islands. As knowledge and technology improves, progressively larger islands are becoming pest free. Similarly, large community-led conservation projects on the mainland are part of a growing network of ‘Sanctuaries’ for native wildlife.
Lee Shapiro, Director of Research for Connovation, presented range of new pest control methods being developed. This included both new toxins currently being registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and the ‘Spitfire’ – a device that sprays toxin onto targeted pests then re-sets itself.
Dean Baigent-Mercer, a private landowner from the Far North, spoke of his experience in carrying out a ground based 1080 operation on his own bush block. This presentation was well received as community interest is growing in using 1080 on private land to knockdown a suite of animal pests.
NZ Landcare Trust Northland Biodiversity Coordinator Ngaire Tyson, said “The aim of this annual workshop is to bring the latest pest control ideas, research and tools to Northland to help on-the-ground projects operate at the top of their game. The workshop is also a great way of bringing all the projects in Northland together to share their vast knowledge and experience from the work they’re out there doing every day to protect our native wildlife and keep forests alive.’
This year the Northland Regional Pest Control Workshop was held at the Waimate North Showgrounds. The location of the event changes to a different Northland location each year to allow as many people as possible to get along.
The Northland Pest Control Workshop was organised in partnership by NZ Landcare Trust, Kiwis for Kiwi Trust and the Waimate North Landcare Trust. The event was funded by the Biosecurity Advice Funds.
