Biosecurity officers in the wild
Day to day our biosecurity officers get to work in some pretty spectacular parts of Waitaha Canterbury, but sometimes, exciting opportunities arise to help support biosecurity projects in other parts of the country.
This work not only helps our colleagues from other regional councils and industry partners with their pest management programmes, but it also provides excellent learning and training opportunities for both parties, contributing to successful biosecurity outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Recent work opportunities
Controlling weeds on the Chatham Islands
Earlier this month, four biosecurity officers headed to the Chatham Islands to join permanent staff, Jase and Robin Seymour, for a week to undertake control of a range of pest species on the island including banana passionfruit, chilean guava and ragwort.
Read more about pest control in the Chatham Islands:
- Detector dogs with a nose for biosecurity | CIC website
- Have you seen - ragwort? | CIC Website
- Gorse control programme looking to be back in 2024 | CIC website
Detecting Chilean Needle Grass in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Resident dog handler Lauren Piket and her best dog pal, Archie, headed up to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland to spend a week with Auckland Regional Council’s biosecurity team sniffing out the invasive Chilean needle grass (CNG).
Archie is one of a handful of pups trained to sniff out CNG before they seed.
If you have seen or suspect the presence of this pest, you must report the sighting to us.
Find out more about how to identify Chilean needle grass, our approach to managing it and the methods we employ to control this invasive species.
Archie the dog busy sniffing out CNG
Monitoring weed populations in Waitaki Lakes and Fiordland National Park
Biosecurity officer Abbie Roper teamed up with divers from NIWA to assist in the annual Waitaki Lakes Weed Surveillance Programme.
The programme involves monitoring populations of lake weeds and any new incursions of invasive species. This is especially important in lakes that are high-risk due to their popularity with summer visitors.
Abbie also headed down to the chilly waters of Fiordland National Park to assist Environment Southland in searching for undaria, an invasive seaweed that’s being managed under the Ta Whenua Fiordland Undaria Control Programme.
The team are working hard to reduce populations and have recently successfully declared undaria eradicated from Taiari/Chalky area.
Abbie Roper searching for undaria at Fiordland National Park