News Archives - Predator Free Whangarei

Springing into action for kiwi

What a Spring it’s been for conservation around Whangārei! From Bream Head, to Tutukaka, to Pukenui forest, various community groups have come …

December 19, 2024

Possum search with a thermal drone

This is where it gets exciting for mainland eradication projects! The Possum Free Whangārei Heads field team, backyard trappers, community groups, have …

August 23, 2024

Sniffing out the last possums

Meet Cam and Nesha – a conservation dog handler and his certified possum indicator dog. Nesha is highly trained and specialised to …

July 22, 2024

Trialing new AI tech

On this road towards Predator Free 2050 we have the dedicated help of volunteers, rangers, community groups… and Artificial Intelligence! Alongside the …

May 17, 2024

Welcoming three new team members!

The Possum Free Whangārei Heads team has expanded with three new Biosecurity Field Officers joining to help achieve the Possum Free goal …

March 19, 2024

New Series: Who’s Calling?

From chirps, to mimicries, to booming noises – there are so many unique tunes that get sung by the birds of Whangārei! …

March 13, 2024

Welcoming the new Biosecurity Field Officer, Holly Brown!

We’re glad to have another Biosecurity Field Officer join the Possum Free Whangārei Heads team! Holly is a multigenerational Whangārei Heads local and loves being able to work in the place she calls home.

September 21, 2023

What’s been happening in the possum elimination space?

The 9,100+ ha possum elimination project in the Whangārei Heads has now been operationally active for almost 18 months – how is this progressing?

September 6, 2023

New Series: Meet the Locals!

From endemic bats, to geckos, to invertebrates, to kiwi! Join us on a journey through Whangārei’s wondrous landscapes to meet the unique native species that call this place home. Kia mōhio koe ki ēnei taonga o te taiao. Get to know these treasures of nature.

August 22, 2023

Welcoming the new Manager, Oliver Hopwood

We would like to welcome a familiar face into the Manager role! We’re pleased to introduce Oliver Hopwood as the new Predator …

July 25, 2023

A call for help with possum sightings in Whangārei Heads!

The Possum Free Whangārei Heads project is asking for help from the community to report possum sightings from the area.

May 22, 2023

Welcoming the new Operations Lead, Zac Coffin

We recently said ka kite to Su Sinclair, who was the Operations Lead for Predator Free Whangārei. We welcomed a familiar face into the new role with a Q&A – let’s get to know Zac more!

May 15, 2023

2022 Annual Report available now

There has been lots of highlights, as well as learnings, this past year. Read more about what has happened in the past funding year, and what’s to come as we head into the next year.

October 20, 2022

What’s been happening in the possum eradication space?

Where is the possum eradication project at? How many possums have been caught? What are the next steps? Find the answers in this article here.

October 14, 2022

A ‘kie’ indicator for pest control efforts

The presence of kiekie can tell us that pest control is working. It’s a sought-after plant for not only introduced predators, by native birds and mammalians, including humans!

September 30, 2022

Funding available for community groups

Are you a trapping champion and running a community pest control group? You may be eligible for some funding and support! The …

August 2, 2022

The Field Journal – June

This month’s field journal was written by Biosecurity Officer, Gaelyn Dewhurst It has been a very busy couple of months in the …

July 4, 2022

Get involved with the Garden Bird Survey

The Garden Bird Survey is a simple yet important activity that can help inform policy makers, scientists, and many other organisations. Birds …

June 20, 2022

Trappers: Please be aware

Interim findings from a new study raise health and safety concerns for Northland trappers, as up to one third of possums (4/12) …

May 25, 2022

The first leg with legholds

We have trialled our customised live leghold traps with success, catching the eradication project’s first possums last month. These traps are known …

May 16, 2022

The Field Journal – April

This month’s field journal was written by Biosecurity Officer, Riley Edwards April has been a momentous month for the project, being able …

April 30, 2022

From our toolbox – a self-resetting trap!

Meet the AT220 – set it up and they’re ready to go to service itself on its own! As much as we …

April 8, 2022

The Field Journal – March

This month’s field journal is written by Biosecurity Officer, Zac Coffin. With the close of the month of Maehe, the Possum Eradication Team at Whangārei Heads enters a long awaited and exciting phase of going ‘live’.

March 31, 2022

Learnings from Reotahi

We were grateful to have had Matua Winiwini Kingi provide insight into the te ao Māori way of approaching Reotahi maunga and …

March 25, 2022

Predator Survey Results from Tiakina Whangārei

Each year we survey areas around Whangārei to find out more about the pest mammal populations in our city. This is crucial for the work we do to make sure we are on track to achieving our objective of becoming a predator free city! We can’t do this without the data to support us, so we use these surveys as a way to inform what we do, how we do it and where we do it!

March 20, 2022