The Enviroclub and GATE Science groups have started setting up monitoring equipment at our new conservation site given to us to look after by the Dunedin City Council.

Students bushwhacked their way though the area in order to set up chew cards, tracker tunnels and bug hotels in order to discover what kinds of creatures, both friend and foe, may dwell in the area. 

When we collected our first round of cards, we discovered that rats were the main pest, with possum being second. The groups will work with DCC to set up the appropriate style trap in our area with the hopes that we will reduce the number of pests and increase the population of native birds. 

Enviroclub has been gifted the area for the next three years with the hopes of also restoring native plant populations and removing ‘weed’ species of plants. In addition, the GATE Science group plans on looking at some of the long and short term effects of predator control in the area for their Crest research projects.