Breakfast meeting - Picton Dawn Chorus

Please join us for a breakfast meeting on Sunday, July 12, at Le Café, where Darren Peters will present proof of success with predator trapping of large areas. The meeting will start at 8am sharp, as Darren has only a small window of time available.
The elimination of predators from Kaipupu has now been achieved. Unfortunately rats, and potentially stoats, are continuing to threaten our pest free status, by swimming in from surrounding land areas.

A group, presently named Picton Dawn Chorus (PDC), has been formed, from the present Kaipupu pest monitoring volunteers and others, to deal with predators in the Kaipupu halo area.
A request from PDC has gone forward to the Kaipupu Trust Committee for support in this endeavour and Darren’s presentation will demonstrate the practicality of achieving a predator free area around Kaipupu and Picton, which in turn will hopefully persuade the Committee to get behind the concept.
Other initiatives for wide scale trapping are in various stages of establishment in the Sounds area and this invitation is to a few representatives from these areas as well.
Darren’s presentation is a fantastic opportunity for us to learn how we can all move forward with the exciting opportunity to re-establish the Dawn Chorus throughout the Sounds.
As a precursor to the meeting - a little about what Kaipupu Pest Monitoring have learned… In the early days, we spent much time monitoring predators and then when discovered would distribute many traps in specific areas to kill the intruder/s. This entailed a lot of volunteer effort.
Since those days we have gradually covered much of the reserve with appropriately spaced, permanently set traps, and the balance will be covered in the next couple of months.
We are now aware that these traps will eventually kill every invading predator.
The change of approach, by setting permanent traps requiring minimal attention, makes the trapping of large areas a practical and effective means of reducing predator numbers to zero as well as maintaining close to this figure, after future incursions.
If you have any interest in or questions about the efficacy of large area trapping, please come to this meeting and bring anyone, who you consider may be interested, along with you.
Le Café - Sunday 12th July, 8am

A really worthwhile meeting James.
Good to see so many out early on a frosty morning!!

It was a good meeting and it was good to talk to Darren before the meeting started I though only about 10 would turn up being so cold so I was surprised at the turnout.

Yes it was a wonderful meeting. Great to see such support and a great delivery by Darren. Many thanks to all those who showed up.

The following is what I typed up after the event and I post it here for others to comment on.

After the stimulating and educational meeting held at Le Café, I suggest that we take the following actions.
We make the most of Darren’s offer and ask him to produce a map of the area we might attack and an estimate of trap requirements. I will secure an MDC map of the Snout and its cycle/walking tracks to assist Darren. (I have now taken this action)
Once we have a map on hand, we hold a meeting, of those who have expressed interest in the project, to plan the way forward. At this meeting we will discuss
• Discuss Darren’s map and the anticipated actions that need to be taken,
• Plan a public meeting to build community support and participation.
• Plan future build of the project, including funding and collusion with neighbouring predator endeavours.

I was wondering whether I could start drafting a little prototype website? We could use it to invite comments and expressions of support. www,pictondawnchorus.co.nz? :-)

Also, if you are going to ask Darren to make the map about trap requirements, would it be worth asking him also to indicate pre-trapping monitoring requirements?

@siobainbrowning Excellent idea re a web site. What platform do use? I love Weebly.

Darren has been invited to join this group, but has yet to sign up. Why not email him at [email protected] and discuss your questions. You could suggest he joins Loomio to discuss things on line.

Thanks to @trudynicholas we have some notes taken during the meeting, which are worth keeping.

Next kaipupu committee meeting is July 27
If, as suggested at the meeting, it is worthwhile doing this in conjunction with KP, then I suggest we get KP position clarified, and funding sources discussed, and volunteer implications clarified, before getting too far down the track

Agree the plan of a detailed contour map of the areas that need to be monitored would be a good start. As you say there are many tracks on the southern end of the Snout which is the area closest to Kaipupu. At my property at Waikawa I have killed 13 possums over the last 2 years so there are plenty around.
Regret I will be away overseas on July 27 so will not be able to attend meeting.

Darren Peters has been as good as his word.

This came through from him in the weekend.

"Greetings James,
Maps in the mail to you.

70km of stoat/possum traps = 700 stoat traps and 700 possum traps (each at the same 100m site) and I’ve calculated 2000ha of rat control around the village which can be reduced to 1000ha = 1 rat device per ha = 1000 rat devices at least...

Regards Darren"