Charles Upham residents to the rescue

A group of Charles Upham Retirement Village residents is helping ramp up South Island high country pest eradication programme to help protect roroa/ great-spotted kiwi, whio and other the native birds and fauna.

Lynn Andrews and fellow village residents Ross Stewart, Murray Giles, Lindsay Rowe and Kevin Hurley have built pest trap housings for use in the wild.

Their wooden trap housings have been laid out in a trap-line on the south side of Nina Valley area, in the high country where North Canterbury meets the West Coast.

The plan is to help control rats, stoats, hedgehogs and other predators, with partners including the Department of Conservation (DOC). Quite a few hedgehogs have been caught at a separate trapline at Medbury Scientific Reserve in North Canterbury near the Hurunui River, Lynn says.

A total of 44 tunnel-trap sets were recently handed over by Lynn to a conservation enthusiast George Moran, who transported them into the Nina Valley. George and his wife Celia transported the traps by road to State Highway 7 past Hanmer, then linked up with a helicopter to get them into the south side of the valley.

Both George and Lynn are keen to acknowledge the help and funding they’ve received. George is quick to thank Ryman Healthcare for providing funding for the wood, nails and screws for all of the traps being built at the village, with Kaiapoi ITM (a building supplies specialist) helping with timber. Retailer Macpac helped with the purchase of hardware including trap mechanisms and stainless steel baffles through a Macpac Fund for Good grant.

George and Celia are part of a self-named group of ‘Doubtless Conservation’ volunteers and friends. A team of 10 worked to spread the traps around the conservation area on May 16-17. Around ten years ago 16 roroa/ great-spotted kiwi were released into the area.

Rangiora-based DOC community ranger Sarah Ensor said the Department had been involved to varying degrees helping oversee both the Medbury Reserve and Nina Valley projects.

Pictured: Lynn Andrews and Sarah Ensor.