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Last week, the local Forest and Bird Society held its inaugural awards designed to thank volunteers who contribute to the pest-free Hibiscus Coast programme.
The Pest Free Hibiscus Coast Volunteer Awards event was held on December 12. There are now 80 volunteers involved in the project, putting in over 4000 hours this year alone to helping make the Coast a safer place for native wildlife.
Project manager Jenny Hanwell says the project relies on volunteers.
“Without them we would have thousands more rats and possums damaging the local environment,” she says.
Volunteers and their families had a guided walk through Shakespear Regional Park’s Waterfall Gully, led by Auckland Council Ranger Emma Witton, where they learned more about the rare species they are working to protect. Afterwards they shared a barbecue picnic before awards were given out.
Pest Free Hibiscus Coast began in 2014 when long standing Forest & Bird member Pauline Smith developed a vision for a Pest Free Peninsula. In 2019 the project got big enough to need professional management and a staff team began to grow with Jenny Hanwell being recruited as project manager, Rhiannon Thomas as field officer and more recently Mark Whittington as Red Beach community activator. Thanks to funding from the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, DOC, the Lotteries Commission, Foundation North and Auckland Council, the project will expand further next year, with three more staff joining the team.
Volunteers take on a range of roles, including managing trap lines, helping with education and events and managing data records. Forest & Bird work with Auckland Council’s parks department to protect native wildlife in more than 70 parks in the area, as well as supporting people to trap rats in their backyards.
At the inaugural awards, everyone received a certificate of recognition, and those who have been involved for five years or more were also given a project branded polo shirt. Extra recognition was given to several individuals for their exceptional work this year, including: Paul Wilkinson who put in over 500 hours, designing and managing the project’s recording system, amongst other tasks; Trevor Sanderson and Ross Martin for catching the most possums on their trap line in Millwater, and Derek Kelsey for overall outstanding contribution.
“Derek has helped with every element of the project, from supporting backyard trappers to installing monitoring tools and doing bird surveys – because of him we have been able to do so much more. He is also so generous with sharing his knowledge and experience,” Jenny says.
Prizes were donated by local businesses and Auckland Council.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Pest Free Hibiscus Coast Project, email j.hanwell@forestandbird.org.nz
