What a year it’s been so far for our predator control volunteers!

In 2025, more than 100 dedicated volunteers have been out in the field checking and maintaining 474 traps and 707 bait stations across the Restore Hibiscus & Bays area. 

Together, you’ve made an impressive 10,872 records on Trap.NZ — a huge achievement and a testament to your commitment.

Their hard work is showing remarkable results — 2,960 pests have been trapped so far this year, already 650 more than the total for all of 2024, with two months still to go! 

We’ve also seen fantastic growth in our predator control network, with 254 new tools installed — a big jump from 174 last year. And we’re not done yet — new trap lines are planned for Long Bay, Awaruku, and Taiotea catchments before the end of the year.  Along with new lines at Woodridge Reserve and Deep Creek Reserves which will connect the reserves across the East Cost Bays

There have been some real highlights too. A newly installed line in Gerontius Reserve (Deep Creek catchment) caught four possums within just two weeks of being set up. Meanwhile, the Long Bay Backyard Project is proving the power of community action, with 79 pests caught so far — including one household that’s responsible for more than half of those catches! Another property logged eight rats in 10 days, maintaining an average of nearly three catches per week.

It’s exciting to see such progress, and we can’t wait to see these efforts reflected in our October monitoring results.

A massive thank you to every volunteer helping restore balance to our local ecosystems — your dedication is making a real difference to our wildlife and bringing nature back to our backyards and reserves!