Brooklyn Trail Builders are volunteers who have been building trails and planting trees for ten years in the green hills of Wellington on land managed by WCC. Some of our trails cross an area of rough hills that includes Carey’s Gully and drops towards the Southern Landfill. This is regenerating bush, with many steep streams and rocky outcrops. Directly next to this area is Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne Ecosanctuary and many rare birds including the tīeke were spilling over the fence, looking for somewhere to live. Except for possum bait stations, there was no ongoing pest control in the area and after getting approval from WCC we set about doing something about it.
We have raised $20,000 to carry out pest control in the Hawkins Hill area to help protect these rare birds; $10,000 from the DOC Community Fund; $5,000 from Lion Foundation and $5,000 from local mountain bikers. We’ve bought GoodNature A24 stoat and rat resetting traps, as they are perfect for the steep hills and isolated country. 120 of these have been placed, covering over 100 hectares.
A small group replenishes the lure and bait as required, which is good as we are currently building another trail which incorporates about 3,000 volunteer hours. If you’d like to help out please get in touch!
