On Thursday 29th September, Year 5 and 6 students travelled to Maungatautari Sanctuary near Karapiro to learn about conservation of our native wildlife and eradication of pests and predators in a sanctuary.

The students went off in their class groups to explore the sanctuary with a guide. They saw bellbirds, kākā, saddlebacks, North Island robin, tuī, pīwakawaka, kererū, and possible kiwi nests. The ‘Kiwi man’ told us about how they reintroduced kiwi into the sanctuary and now have over 2,000 kiwi living on the mountain. The students were excited to share their knowledge about traps and eradication of pests as well as learn more about it from the guides. They saw an A12 possum trap up close and how it worked, stuffed pests such as: stoats, weasels, ferrets, rats, rabbits and possums. Climbing up a tower to see the sanctuary from a bird's eye view was very high and a bit scary for some!

Thank you to all our awesome parents and family who came with us, we appreciate you!

It’s definitely worth a family trip here over the summer, if that sounds like something you’d like to do, head to https://www.sanctuarymountain.co.nz/home.