North Island kākā feeding
Project Kākā ground control at Donnelly Flat
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
Period Trap Rat Stoat Mouse Weasel Hedgehog Possum Hare Cat Other Ferret
Year 1:
October 2010 – September 2011
DOC 200 trap 54 7 8 2 7          
Timms trap 12         152        
Year 2:
October 2011 – September 2012
DOC 200 trap 66 5 15              
Timms trap 4   1     20 1      
Victor trap 283 1 254              
Year 3:
October 2012 – August 2013
DOC 200 trap 46 18 18 2       1    
Timms trap 21   2   1 15        
Victor trap 152 8 583 2 1       1  
Year 4:
October 2013 – September 2014
DOC 200 trap 42 3 4   1          
Timms trap 2 1       14        
Victor trap 28 1 10   1 1        
Year 5:
October 2014 – September 2015
DOC 200 trap 78 2 20         2    
Timms trap 3   9     8        
Victor trap 47 1  390              
Year 6:
October 2015 – September 2016
DOC 200 trap 52 4  5           1  
Timms trap 1   2     18        
Victor trap 148   144              
Year 7:
October 2016 – September 2017
DOC 200 trap 39 12 7              
Timms trap 5   2     5        
Victor trap 181   458              
Year 8:
October 2017 – September 2018
DOC 200 trap 63 4 11 3            
Timms trap           3        
Victor trap 393 1 683 1            
Year 9:
October 2018 – September 2019
DOC 200 trap 142 1 3              
Timms trap           11        
Victor trap 597   249              
Year 10:
October 2019– September 2020
DOC 200 trap 64   8 1       2    
Timms trap           3        
Victor trap 256 1 179              
Year 11:
October 2020– September 2021
DOC 200 trap 21 2                
Timms trap           3        
Victor trap 113 1 227 2 1          
Year 12:
October 2021– September 2022
DOC 200 trap 34 2 4 2            
Timms trap           1        
Victor trap 284   481 3            
Year 13:
October 2022– September 2023
DOC 200 trap 51     1           1
Timms trap           1        
Victor trap 389 2 486 1 1