Puketotara Landcare requested a ‘Women’s Trapping Workshop’ and Kiwi Coast was only too happy to oblige!
Twenty-three keen women from Whangarei, Utakura, Umawera, Kaeo and Waimate North attended the workshop on November 4th, kindly hosted by Bridget King of Puketotara Landcare.
While Kiwi Coast holds a range of different types of local and regional pest control workshops, these ‘wahine maia” workshops create a space where women can learn directly from other women. The key focus is on sharing skills together on how to handle, lure and set traps safely and effectively.
Puketotara Women’s Trapping Workshop. Photo: Mae Lewis.
The workshop shared information on the different types of animal pests and how to successfully control them to boost the health of native forests and get the birdsong back.
Kiwi Coast’s Far North Coordinator, Lesley Baigent, said: “We had a wide range of traps available and everyone was shown how to use them effectively and safely.
Some women were initially a bit daunted by some of the traps, and thought they’d never be able to set them. However by the end of the workshop everyone felt comfortable with setting and baiting the traps really well.”
Toxins and their use was also covered for those wanting to take the next step in pest control.
Mae Lewis (Kiwi Coast Field Support) noted: “We made sure there was plenty of time for questions. Some of the women were already trapping and brought plenty of questions with them. The workshop was a great opportunity to get a bit of feedback and advice and clear up a few myths and misconceptions.”
Lesley added “Receiving feed back like “I now feel empowered” and “I never thought I could set traps” made the day extra worthwhile.
“We hope to follow this day up with a field trip with more hands on experience and more information on where to put traps to get best results.”
If you are interested in attending the field trip or booking a Kiwi Coast skill building workshop for your area contact Lesley Baigent at lesley@kiwicoast.org.nz
