The sound of a squealing stoat gave a few students a fright as they looked down a tube at what appeared, at first sight, to be a cute animal.

But stoats, along with other introduced predators are causing an alarming decline in the population numbers of our native bird and reptile species. This was the focus of a topic studied by Year 12 Biology students during Term 2. As part of this topic, students had the opportunity to visit Zero Invasive Predators, situated just off campus at Lincoln University. This organisation is at the forefront of design and innovation into seeking, identifying and trapping predators. Students were introduced to the latest trap designs and innovations in predator fencing by head scientist Tom Agnew, who had these on display for students to investigate. Students were also shown around their testing facilities and Tom explained how they use the area to test fence and trap designs on stoats and rats, and how this helps them refine their tools. Students were also shown a presentation by Dr James Ross on how we are going towards meeting the Predator Free Aotearoa 2050 goal. This was very relevant information that students could use for their assessment on this topic. We would like to thank Lincoln University and ZIP for allowing our students access to this information at the cutting edge of Science and technology.