February 2025

When we first moved here in 2007, we were given an old style Timm’s trap. It was awful. It would trap the possum by an arm, and we’d have to go out and put the poor thing out of its misery. We stopped trapping for a long time. Then I saw a flyer for a […]

What trap line(s) do you check? Leith Track (Botanic Garden) Brackens View Chingford Park (lower track) How long have you been volunteering with City Sanctuary? Since November 2021 for the Leith Track. Picked up Brackens View and Chingford Park in February 2022. What motivated you want to start volunteering? I’m a bird enthusiast and amateur […]

How do you stay in touch with your other crew members? We primarily use an app called Heja which was suggested by a team member. It features scheduling, messages and very handy reminders whenever I have a slot coming up. Have you had any special wildlife encounters on your trap line? I once opened the […]

City Sanctuary was launched in 2020 as the city project for Predator Free Dunedin. For the first two years of the project, we focused on running backyard trapping pilot sites in three suburbs to find out what works and what doesn’t for achieving effective urban predator control. We are very grateful to the backyard trappers […]

Have you ever found a lizard in your garden? Our very own Penny Jacks (Community Ranger) completed her Masters Degree studying the behaviour of rare skinks in Otago. She provides some tips about the lizards you’re likely to find in Dunedin and how you can help protect these fascinating reptiles. Written by Penny Jacks Do […]

Written by Penny Jacks, Community Ranger I’ll start by saying I have only cooked possum twice, so I am not an expert possum chef. However, I did some research and thought others who are keen to try might benefit from my learnings. I like the idea of making use of the whole animal as a […]

If we turned the clock back several hundred years, Dunedin/Ōtepoti would be a very different place. Imagine standing in the Octagon and instead of seeing shops and roads you would be surrounded by beautiful native forest. Huge native trees such as rimu and tōtara would have towered into the sky. The peninsula would have been […]

We couldn’t do our work without the help of a team of dedicated volunteers who generously give their time to the project. Marie was one of our first trap line volunteers and last year had the opportunity to meet former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern along with other long-serving volunteers. Disclaimer: we can’t guarantee volunteers will […]

What motivated you want to start volunteering?   When I first came to Dunedin as a student in the mid-1980’s the dawn chorus used to be loud and long. Then over the years this has been getting gradually less and less, so gradually that you didn’t notice at first. I also do a lot of walking […]

Written by Clare Cross, Open Valley Urban Ecosanctuary coorindator. Throughout Dunedin, many people are looking after their own and public spaces through wildlife-friendly actions such as trapping, planting and weeding. The Lindsay Creek Catchment is a special place to me and receives a lot of care by people who are looking after its environs. Here’s […]

By Maureen Howard, Senior Educator Coordinator for Town Belt Kaitiaki Town Belt Kaitiaki (TBK) is a for-schools’ student led programme whose purpose is to ‘promote and better the Dunedin Town Belt’. From activities ranging from planting trees to creating podcasts – getting rid of invasive pests in the Town Belt is again a big part […]

In 2022 we wanted to make sure we had every inch of target habitat in the northern operating area covered with possum traps. We added in another 324 possum traps and 475 rat and mustelid traps, targeting blocks that were prime possum real-estate. The northern suburbs were smothered in red (trap station dots) on our Trap.NZ […]

By Duncan Grant, Reignite Physio My name is Duncan I am a physiotherapist and keen advocate for health promotion. I am going to highlight some of my favorite/common benefits I find that I experience when I look after my trapline.   I feel more positive  It is more important than ever in this day and age […]

The Otago Peninsula is home to many taoka species and predator removal has been key to seeing native wildlife flourish there. With outstanding support from the local community, the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group have removed a whopping 20,000+ possums from the area since 2011. We know the area is down to the last remaining possums […]