Supporting volunteers at Kaitake Range

Local volunteers at Kaitake Ranges Conservation Trust work hard to help maintain the biodiversity of the Kaitake Ranges by undertaking regular expeditions into the bush to clear tracks, set bait or lures, and empty traps.

Peter Morgan, Chairperson of the Kaitake Ranges Conservation Trust, has a dedicated focus on improving the local environment: “The work we do is primarily about reducing the predator population of stoats and rats, so that native birds may flourish. Everyone should benefit from increased bird life in the area. To see Tuis, and even Kiwis, in the wild again up here would be fantastic.”

The main motivation for the grant application was to support volunteers to carry out their work in the Ranges with ease and safety. “Parts that we work in don’t have any mobile phone coverage, so the Conservation Trust started to get concerned about what our volunteers would do if they had an accident while out in the bush.”

A grant of $5,000 was made in May 2019 to improve volunteer safety through the purchase of 4 radio telephones, 6 personal locator beacons and 5 safety kits; along with a freezer to store bait close to site. “Sometimes our volunteer groups can involve up to twenty people at a time. It can get hard to communicate in the bush, so the radio telephones are hugely valuable to coordinate our efforts.”

“We have a wide range of volunteers, from families with children right through to retirees. We’ve also recently had a few groups of students from local schools come along to help us, and learn about the ecosystem of the Ranges, which has been really great to see.”

“Getting the grant from TSB Community Trust allowed us to focus on supporting our volunteers to get out safely into the bush to carry out their tasks, without

worrying about having to make up the costs for the necessary equipment with our own fundraising,'' said Morgan.

The organisation is operated solely by volunteers who have a passion for their local environment, who want to be out there in the bush with any spare hours they may have, doing their part to provide hands on help.