The Russell boys with their pest hunt winnings, including hunting photo, Most Mustelids, and a tie with the Clark family for Most Categories Covered (five categories).
The Russell boys with their pest hunt winnings, including hunting photo, Most Mustelids, and a tie with the Clark family for Most Categories Covered (five categories).
By Kimberley Bartlett
The Pōrangahau Catchment Group (PCG) is celebrating a major milestone—100,000 native plants now in the ground.
This marks a significant step forward in the group’s restoration mission across the Pōrangahau catchment, an area that spans 88,000 hectares. At the same time, a pest control programme inthe Pōrangahau estuary is showing promising results, with a recent run of empty traps suggesting fewer predators and a safer environment for local wildlife.
For the catchment group and te hapori whānui (the wider community), the planting milestone is a win for te taiao and shows what can happen when a community rolls up its sleeves.
“Getting 100,000 plants in the ground over three winters is more than just a number—it’s a symbol of what can be achieved when a community comes together,” says Hannah Morrah, PCG catchment coordinator. “The plants will stabilise our soil, improve water quality, and create habitats for birds.”
“These natives have been planted by people from all over the catchment: hapū members, landowners and their families, schools, people from Pōrangahau village and Te Paerahi beach community, plus our awesome local planting contractors,” adds Hannah.
Danny Paulsen, Hanna Brockbank-Smith, and their son, Arlo with a planting project supported by the PCG.
To reduce the risk to wildlife from pests, the PCG has a network of 200 traps in place across approximately 2,000 hectares at the Pōrangahau estuary. The idea for the project came from a conversation on Facebook about an increase in the presence of pests at Pōrangahau village.
Veteran trapper John McCaslin has been checking the traps since early 2023 and was chuffed to report a run of empty traps during his latest monthly round.
This image of Jonty and Archie Clark was entered in the pest hunt photo competition.
“Empty traps mean fewer predators,” Hannah explains. “It’s a sign that nearly two years into our trapping programme, it’s working.”
Pest control not only positively affects biodiversity but also plays a key role in preserving new plantings. To tackle this, the PCG ran a pest hunting photo competition over the October school holidays.
The idea came about to address threats like hares, deer, and goats, which can damage plants, as well as predators like feral cats, weasels, stoats and rats that prey on birds, eggs, lizards, and wētā. The competition was a hit, with catchment whānau really getting behind the initiative.
The Russell boys with a pair of mustelids caught in the pest hunt.
PCG committee member Sam Clark came up with the idea and was blown away with the response. To take part, all participants had to do was catch a pest, take a photo—nothing too gory, ideally—and share it on the PCG’s Facebook page.
“I think the simplicity of it struck a chord with the community, because we ended up with far more entries than we expected. Thanks to the competition, the catchment now has 169 fewer pests causing trouble for plants and wildlife, so I’d say we’ll be running it again,” says Sam.
The judging for the competition was based on four categories: Most Pests (in each pest category), Best Photo, Most Pests Overall, and Most Categories Covered.
The Sciascia family with their pest hunt prizes for Most Hare, Most Possum and Most Pests Overall - 67 pests caught.
“The competition was about getting involved in a fun, hands-on way. It was awesome to see local families taking an active interest in protecting our environment.”
“We hope the PCG project as a whole will be a lasting, intergenerational effort,” says Sam. “The catchment includes two primary schools, and we do our best to involve our kids in the journey. It’s all about creating a better future for our children and generations to come.”
So, what’s next? The PCG is preparing for another winter planting season, with 30,000 more plants ready to be established. As with the 100,000 already planted, the PCG’s Priority Project Fund will contribute to the costs of the plants and getting them in the ground.
The PCG is now exploring funding options to sustain its efforts beyond 2025. So far, funding has allowed the community group to accelerate fencing, planting, and the sharing of community matauranga (knowledge) and vision. With the right support, the PCG can keep the momentum going and build on the progress already made for te taiao and the Pōrangahau catchment community.
