KAUPAPA | PROJECTS
Building a Predator-Free Te Atatū Peninsula
Rivercare Group in collaboration with Forest & Bird are creating a protective trapping halo around Te Atatū Peninsula to restore native biodiversity, protect birdlife, and reconnect our community with Te Taiao.
13
Traplines
~26 Ha
Area covered
Phase 3
Currently underway
2030 goal
Pest-free goal
LIVE DATA
The trapping halo
Traplines managed by Rivercare Group and Forest & Bird form a protective halo around Te Atatū Peninsula. Click any line to see captures, species breakdown, and trends.
Our trapping impact, year by year
Each line below tracks the cumulative number of pests caught across our monitored sites since the start of that year. Use the picker to focus on a single location, or view the network as a whole.
ECOLOGICAL RECOVERY
Bird Monitoring Update
TARGET SPECIES
We target these predators
Five target species, three trap types all deployed with humane methods and checked monthly by our volunteers.
Rats
Rats are one of the most damaging predators on the peninsula, raiding nests for eggs and chicks and competing with native species for food. They breed quickly, so numbers can rebound fast if trapping lapses.
We target rats with Victor and T-Rex traps set in covered boxes along the habitat edge, checked and rebaited monthly to keep numbers consistently low.
OUR GOALS
Where we're headed
From building community investment now to releasing native birds by 2030.
2025 – 2026
Right now
Complete the halo perimeter
Launch Possum free Peninsula
Recruit & train new volunteers
Begin consistent bird counts
2027+
Medium term
A possum-free peninsula
Publish community trapping reports
Network of cameras & tracking tunnels
Backyard trapping campaign
2030+
Long term
Pest-free peninsula
Traplines along full river systems
Community workshops & public talks
Apply to release native birds
Community Feedback
"I am enjoying the return of Tui to my garden recently, drawn each year by the “Tahiti” Dwarf Pohutukawha which flowers in winter. I was delighted one evening recently to find a family of parent and fledgeling Piwakawaka feeding on tiny berries on a bush by my front door and a few days later to see a kingfisher in the garden. One or two Pukeko that have been rather bothersome in my vegetable garden over the last year have been absent recently.
The work you have been doing is much appreciated."
- Resident of Renata Cresent