May 2022

The Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary Project (Open VUE) is a collaborative project that brings together the community, The Valley Project, Orokonui Ecosanctuary and the University of Otago. About us: Building on The Valley Project’s holistic connection with the local community and environment; Open VUE and partners seek to revitalise the unique topography of North East […]

City Sanctuary is one of three Predator Free Dunedin projects and is being delivered Dunedin City Council. Our work will connect the large-scale predator control projects already happening on the Otago Peninsula and to the North of Dunedin. City Sanctuary staff report to a steering committee comprised of representatives from Predator Free Dunedin, Dunedin City Council and the Department of Conservation. Our […]

Uni students Toby and Emma have been backyard trapping from their North Dunedin flat since the start of the year. Their kill count comes in at 2 possums and 1 hedgehog so far, using a Trapinator and T-Rex trap. What motivated you get involved in backyard trapping? Toby: We had a possum in our backyard, […]

Predator Free Dunedin’s City Sanctuary project is supporting 1 in 10 households in Maori Hill to protect native wildlife through backyard predator control. Drop in to the Maori Hill Community Centre on Wednesdays in September from 4pm – 6pm to register for a trap and to pick up a monitoring kit to see what predators […]

Over the next year, we are supporting communities in the following pilot suburbs to get 1 in 10 households protecting native wildlife through backyard predator control. Maori Hill (July 2020) North Dunedin (February 2021) Caversham (July 2021) We’re also working with new and existing community groups in our priority suburbs to provide trapping and monitoring […]

Predator Free Dunedin’s City Sanctuary project is supporting 1 in 10 households in Maori Hill to protect native wildlife through backyard predator control. Drop in to the Maori Hill Community Centre on Wednesdays in September from 4pm – 6pm to register for a trap and to pick up a monitoring kit to see what predators […]

Use the form below to send us a message or send us an email. If you have a question, you may find the answer in our list of frequently asked questions. Our vision is to create a vibrant City Sanctuary for Dunedin where wildlife thrives, and communities are leading city-wide predator control. @CitySanctuaryNZ

City Sanctuary is supporting 1 in 10 households to protect native wildlife by hosting a trap in their backyard. Come along to the Maori Hill community trap library. Get a monitoring kit to see what predators are visiting your backyard, register for a free trap and meet the friendly City Sanctuary team. Please RSVP below […]

It has a long-life lure pouch that attracts predators into the trap. The trap mechanism fires when triggered. It is powered by a CO2 canister and will reset itself 24 times. The carcass drops to the ground where it can be scavenged. The Goodnature A24 also comes with a bluetooth attachment called Chirp. This syncs […]

Written by Catherine Bradley, City Sanctuary operations supervisor Left: Holding a kākāpo chick during a health check up. Right: Selfie on a rare sunny day on the island! Over the Easter break I was lucky enough to head down to Anchor Island/Pukenui with my husband for a pretty exciting volunteer opportunity. Nestled in Fiordland’s Dusky Sound, […]

Predator Free Dunedin’s City Sanctuary project is supporting 1 in 10 households in Maori Hill to protect native wildlife through backyard predator control. Drop in to the Maori Hill Community Centre on Wednesdays in September from 4pm – 6pm to register for a trap and to pick up a monitoring kit to see what predators […]

It can be easily set by hand (or foot) and has a removable bait cup that allows you to re-bait without the trap being set. It is contained within a trap box which helps keep pets, children and non-target animals (like birds) safe. Where to put your trap Start where you have seen rats or […]

Even if you haven’t seen any rats under your trap, Chirp counts how many you’ve killed and shares this data with the Goodnature app on your mobile phone. This is shared with City Sanctuary, allowing us to keep track of collective efforts to protect native wildlife in Dunedin. Chirp also lets you know how many strikes […]

The City Sanctuary project is targeting rats, possums and stoats as these are the species included in the Predator Free 2050 strategy. We expect other pest species (like mice, weasels and hedgehogs) will also be caught.