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 […]

Retired farmer, Dick Simmers, has been a volunteer legend for City Sanctuary since 2022. Dick has a wealth of field volunteering experience from far and wide. He’s worked in wildlife parks in South Africa, done trapping in Fiordland national park, cut tracks in the Silverpeaks and he’s even made an enclosure for Sirocco the kākāpō! […]

We love hearing great stories from our backyard trappers! Lloyd Cron is one of City Sanctuary’s newest backyard trappers who is providing us with help at Halfway Bush. We asked Lloyd to share what got him interested in backyard trapping.  Lloyd writes: “We purchased our 8 acres of native bush in 2002, cleared a space […]

There wasn’t even a hint of cattiness at the first Winter series talk “On the topic of cats” hosted by Predator Free Dunedin in early July. On the contrary, in this fascinating talk Predator Free New Zealand, the SPCA, Veterinarians for Animal Welfare New Zealand and the DCC were united with the discussion about ways […]

We love it when university students join City Sanctuary and get stuck in volunteering! University of Otago Students from Salmond, Knox and Aquinas College manage their own trap lines close by to the Colleges. Luka and Andrea from Salmond College recently shared their motivations for volunteering with us.   Luka, who is originally from Auckland, had […]

City Sanctuary resident, Hannah, was excited to move to a property with a lovely apple tree and vege garden but she quickly discovered she wasn’t the only one excited about the produce in her garden! Hannah discovered that a possum had taken a liking to what was on offer. We asked Hannah how she caught […]

Have you been wondering what to do with your backyard trap catches since the switch to the new DCC bin system?   The most eco-friendly option available is to bury catches in your yard, which will reduce waste and add some great nutrients to your soil!   If burial is not possible, the DCC recommends that you […]

City Sanctuary volunteer Michelle has been trapping in the town belt for the past couple of years. She’s also a backyard trapper and we recently learned that her boys Thomas and Espen are avid helpers. We caught up with her to find out more about her family’s experience as City Sanctuary trappers.  Can you tell […]

Marilyn, a long-time resident of Ōpoho, used to regularly hear possums at her property. In recent years, possum activity had reduced significantly but there was no mistaking who the culprit was when Marilyn heard raspy calls in her basement in the night!  Marilyn’s daughter did some detective work and caught video footage of a possum […]