Predator Control with Sally Pugh
The role of social media in conservation efforts, and predator control success stories
This week I am excited to share the Dwindle River Garden’s first guest post, from my friend and fellow gardener
. Sally is a crafter, ECE teacher, wannabe illustrator and picture book author living in Whanganui, New Zealand.I have recently been reflecting on the role that social media, Instagram in particular, has played in my growing education of sustainability, New Zealand native birds, and more recently, the importance of predator control. I am privileged to live near the Whanganui river, with an impressive arboretum along the river’s edge. But one of the things I have noticed, is that although we have many trees, I do not see (or hear) many native birds. I feel lucky if I spot a single tui or a Kereru (wood pigeon), let alone a kotare (kingfisher). And on my daily walks with my dog, I have started noticing large amounts of rat and possum droppings on and around the trees.
A few years ago I was in Wellington and noticed signs near the shoreline warning people about traps set for rats and stoats. TVNZ had a documentary on Wellington’s community predator control project - it is available to view on the Department of Conservation’s blog. As a result of their community coming together to do predator control, you can see the difference as you drive into Wellington and see the Kereru and tui along the banks of the motorway.
I follow Melissa Boardman (a Wellingtonian photographer, bird lover and artist) on Instagram, and she has been photographing and sharing the small population of titipounamu (rifleman) that have successfully made their home in Wellingtons hills, away from the safety of a predator free sanctuary. And in other exciting news, due to the success of Wellington’s predator control efforts, 63 kiwi were released earlier this year in south west Wellington - it is the first time in 150 years that Kiwi have been free to roam Wellington suburbs.
What Wellington has managed to do is inspiring and exciting, and is proof of what a community can achieve, despite all those naysayers who say it won’t work. I hope as a result it inspires other cities, towns and communities to come together to do predator control.
Inspired by what Wellington has achieved, and eager to make a difference in my local area and help our native birds, I have been looking to join a predator control group in Whanganui, but so far I haven’t found one. In my search, I have come across predator control groups on Facebook, including one in Marton.
Now, I don’t like rats (in fact I am terrified of them) and I really don’t want to handle a dead rat, so I am hoping that I will find other people in the local community who will be happy to clear traps and dispose of any rats, mice, stoats or possums. I haven’t exhausted all options yet though, and I still need to contact my local council and DoC (Department of Conservation) to find out if there are any Predator control groups in my area. I also need to find out how to approach predator control in public areas - it may not be simply a matter of setting a trap in a public place. I need to check whether this is something that needs to be done by the council, or DoC, and what signage is required.
Predator Control is not just limited to public areas however - backyard trapping also contributes to community predator control. If every second house in a street had a trap, it would make a significant difference to the rodent population. And if you don’t feel comfortable with trapping or clearing a trap, using bait is another way to manage rodents. Thanks to social media, I have recently learnt about another predator which is decimating our insects, including weta, as well as eggs and baby chicks - the hedgehog. As an introduced species, hedgehogs have no natural predators, and as a result the hedgehog population is huge in NZ, and does a lot of damage to our wildlife. And as much as I don’t like the thought of killing creatures, especially hedgehogs, predator control is necessary to save our native species from extinction.
“Ninety-four percent of our reptile species, 82 percent of bird species, 80 percent of bat species, 76 percent of freshwater fish species, and 46 percent of vascular plant species are either facing extinction or are at risk of being threatened with extinction." - Stats NZ
Predator Free NZ have information on traps, bait, and how to get started, as well as traps for sale in their online shop.
Some of my favourite Instagram accounts to follow that have been instrumental in my predator control journey include:
Words and images with thanks to
. To see more from Sally, follow her on Instagram @sally.af.pugh.If you would like to support The Dwindle River Garden with a small one-off donation, tap the button below.