Community farmers champion pest control solutions
The Ashburton Forks Catchment Group (AFCG) have been busy making large strides in the Ashburton Forks, Staveley, and Alford Forest areas over the past nine months, achieving phenomenal results!
Driven by dedicated local farmers, the group has impressively removed 1,473 hares, 856 possums, and 27 feral cats in under 18 months, using a combination of methods, including five AT220 All-in-One Possum and Rat Pest Trap kits. Talk about efficiency!
Their incredible success has now attracted generous financial support ($8000) from the Ashburton Water Zone Committee. With this, the group can purchase 15 additional AT220 traps, supercharging their pest control efforts and making an even bigger impact on the region.
More traps to help the cause
Project spokesperson Will Wright hopes the additional traps will help to spark more enthusiasm among the group and encourage members to stay committed to the goal of enhancing biodiversity.
"We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this funding," said Will, "because it provides a tangible boost to our efforts and allows us to invest in technology that makes our work more effective and scalable.
"We’re aware that pests can travel large distances daily, and it has been acknowledged that without a co-ordinated approach, it is likely new animals will quickly move in to replace old ones."
The group acknowledges that one of the biggest hurdles of pest control for their farmer members is time, which is where the AT220 comes in. The traps are self-setting, last up to six months between services, and it records trapped species and numbers. With the trapping and shooting the farmers are already doing, the AT220 is increasing the number of pests that are removed from the area.
An example of an AT220 trap
Continued efforts
Additionally, AFCG has set up a monthly nitrate monitoring programme to help understand water quality across the catchment and set achievable targets to work towards. Currently, farmers collect samples from springheads, shallow groundwater and surface water, though there are plans to refine this monitoring.
"We aim to ensure that our monitoring is well-targeted and provides the most useful information, allowing us to respond to changing conditions over time. We would be open to opportunities to apply for additional funding to support this effort and help sustain and expand our water quality monitoring work," Will added.
In the coming years, the group are aiming to establish at least 60 traps and continue the effective predator control within the catchment.
Funding enables community groups to take action
This project was supported through the Ashburton Water Zone Committee’s Action Plan funding for 2024.
Each of the region's water zone committees has an action plan which outlines how they will work with the community to help improve the environment and meet Canterbury Water Management Strategy objectives.