Trap Lines for Schools

Practical pest control  at the Tangihua Lions Lodge

Pest control is a vital part of conservation throughout New Zealand, needed to ensure our unique native species survive.  Our trapline for schools is designed to be a practical way for students to learn about pest control and conservation.  Most students enjoy the hands-on experience and the satisfaction of knowing they have helped to protect our native species.

The aim of the trapline is to;

• Provide a safe, hands-on, outdoor learning experience to encourage students to engage in conservation.
• Rid the area around the Lodge of possums.  This is part of our Predator Control Project and will help our native flora and fauna to recover.
• Demonstrate to students and parents how easy it is to set up an effective trap line for pest control.
• Use the trap line as monitoring lines for further study and to teach students about monitoring pests.

For detailed information on what, where and how to use our trapline refer to our School Trapline Printout.  A laminated copy of this is available at the Lodge for you to take out with you.

The Timms traps used were kindly donated by the Northland Regional Council (NRC) and students from Hikurangi School did the hard work of setting them up.

Why Predator Control is Important

The Reality our Forests Face

Possums cause a significant amount of damage to our forests.  Any action taken that reduces the number of possums is of benefit to our native forests.  Once less possum could mean one more seed that survives to become a tree and one more place for birds to nest and thrive.

The reality of possums by Dean Baigent-Mercer Forest and Bird Northland

Wider Tangihua Predator Control Project

The Tangihua Lions Lodge Trust has set up a predator control project on 400ha of land around the Lodge.  We have installed bait stations for possums and rats, and traps for mustelids and cats.  To reduce the risk of younger lodge guests coming into contact with bait, we have not installed any bait stations near the Lodge or the other facilities that guests are encouraged to use.

Our aim is eliminate predatory pests so the native flora and fauna can regenerate and a significant area of natural forest in the center of Northland will once again become a fully functional ecosystem.

Our ultimate goal is to get predator numbers low enough that we can reintroduce locally extinct species knowing that they will be able to survive and thrive.  We can’t do this on our own.  The Department of Conservation provide funding and resources but we still rely a lot on volunteers.  By involving schools in an active conservation program we hope to positively influence future generations to get involved in conservation, either in the Tangihua’s or elsewhere, and to enjoy the great New Zealand outdoors.