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North Island kākā feeding

Project Kākā ground control at Donnelly Flat

Introduction

Ongoing/dates vary: Help restore the forest and wildlife in Tararua Forest Park with Project Kākā.

Date

Year round. There is a lower number of trap checking through winter.

Description

If you're interested in participating in and contributing to conservation, come and be a part of Project Kākā. Help us restore the forest and its wildlife within 22,000 ha of Tararua Forest Park.

The project takes place at Donnelly Flat. This is located at the Holdsworth Road end, Mount Holdsworth Road, 20 km from Masterton.

Tasks

  • Checking and rebaiting stoat traps (DOC 200)
  • Checking and rebaiting possum traps (Timms)
  • Checking and rebaiting rat traps (Victor)
  • Monitoring rats using tracking tunnels
  • Monitoring possums using wax tags
  • Bird monitoring

Traps are checked once a fortnight, weather permitting taking around 4 hours.

What to expect

You need to be able to commit to ongoing control and/or monitoring.

Fitness required: Reasonable level of fitness

Experience required: You must be able to record data with a high degree of accuracy. This job is not for the squeamish – you should have experience, or want to gain experience, in trapping, bird monitoring and pest monitoring.

Training: Volunteers will be provided with the appropriate training and equipment required for the pest control and monitoring at Donnelly Flat.

How to apply

Apply for this volunteer opportunity online.

You can also complete a PDF version of the registration form.

Download the group volunteer registration form (PDF, 47K)

Send this completed form to volunteer-wairarapa@doc.govt.nz.

Contact

Email: volunteer-wairarapa@doc.govt.nz

Trapping results summary

The DOC 200 traps were first set on 5 October 2010, Timms traps first set on 10 November 2010 and Victor traps were first set on 5 October 2011.

Trapping results
PeriodTrapRatStoatMouseWeaselHedgehogPossumHareCatOtherFerret
Year 1:
October 2010 – September 2011
DOC 200 trap547827     
Timms trap12    152    
Year 2:
October 2011 – September 2012
DOC 200 trap66515       
Timms trap4 1  201   
Victor trap2831254       
Year 3:
October 2012 – August 2013
DOC 200 trap4618182   1  
Timms trap21 2 115    
Victor trap152858321   1 
Year 4:
October 2013 – September 2014
DOC 200 trap4234 1     
Timms trap21   14    
Victor trap28110 11    
Year 5:
October 2014 – September 2015
DOC 200 trap78220    2  
Timms trap3 9  8    
Victor trap471 390       
Year 6:
October 2015 – September 2016
DOC 200 trap524 5     1 
Timms trap1 2  18    
Victor trap148 144       
Year 7:
October 2016 – September 2017
DOC 200 trap39127       
Timms trap5 2  5    
Victor trap181 458       
Year 8:
October 2017 – September 2018
DOC 200 trap634113      
Timms trap     3    
Victor trap39316831      
Year 9:
October 2018 – September 2019
DOC 200 trap14213       
Timms trap     11    
Victor trap597 249       
Year 10:
October 2019– September 2020
DOC 200 trap64 81   2  
Timms trap     3    
Victor trap2561179       
Year 11:
October 2020– September 2021
DOC 200 trap212        
Timms trap     3    
Victor trap113122721     
Year 12:
October 2021– September 2022
DOC 200 trap34242      
Timms trap     1    
Victor trap284 4813      
Year 13:
October 2022– September 2023
DOC 200 trap51  1     1
Timms trap     1    
Victor trap389248611