Graeme Young. Image Carmel Richardson
A Bay of Plenty conservation group has boosted its trapping network thanks to Forest & Bird’s Give-a-Trap initiative. By Matt McCrorie
Forest & Bird magazine
A version of this story was first published in the Winter 2024 issue of Forest & Bird magazine.
⏎A community project nurturing a kōkako stronghold in Kaharoa Forest, Bay of Plenty, has had its pest-trapping efforts supercharged, thanks to traps donated from all over the world.
Forest & Bird administers the Give a Trap website, which allows nature lovers to hop online and donate traps to their chosen predator-free group in Aotearoa.
One of the first recipients of the innovative idea, the brainchild of the late Penny Willocks, is the Kaharoa Kōkako Trust, which has so far received 14 traps worth $1208.
The Trust is made up of a group of passionate volunteers in the Bay of Plenty who have been working tirelessly for nearly three decades to save the remnant kōkako population in Kaharoa Forest.
Chair Graeme Young says he is truly grateful to all the people who donated a trap to support their kōkako protection work. “This is a godsend for us. I never thought it would be so successful,” he said.
The Trust works across a 950ha area of forest and operates 1170 bait stations. Following advice from a trapping expert, it has been working to ensure it has the right traps in the right place for their target species, which include rats and stoats.
It recently signed up to Give a Trap, and Graeme says the website allows the Trust to let donors know what kind of traps they need. People can also donate rat-tracking cards.
These requests are often quickly filled by generous donors who want to make a difference. It enables his team to spend less time doing paperwork.
“You want to be focused on being out there in the bush, getting the work done,” he explained.
“We thought, how do we get the funds for this in a hurry? And people just started donating traps. We got enough of them to make it worth buying some more ourselves. It’s really making a difference.”
He says the Trust would struggle to raise the cash value of the traps and tracking cards in the same timeframe.
“We wouldn’t have got those donations in cash. Give a Trap has been superbly useful.”
Give a trap today and be part of making Aotearoa predator free by 2050.
HOPE AND LEGACY
The innovative online donation Give a Trap platform was created thanks to the legacy of Penny Willocks, who died in 2021 and left a $10,000 legacy for nature that will have an impact for many years to come.
Last year, the Willocks family generously gifted the website to Forest & Bird so we could host and grow the platform and help even more community conservation groups contribute to the Predator Free 2050 movement.
A year on, Penny’s vision is coming to life – Give a Trap is having early success in places around the country such as the Kaharoa forest. But there is more work to do – and our native birds need you.
If you want to make a difference like Penny did, please consider leaving a gift in your will to support Forest & Bird’s conservation work. If you would like to talk to someone about making a bequest, email legacy@forestandbird.org.nz