Lynmore Primary School a finalist in New Zealand Biosecurity Awards

Lynmore Primary School's Alex Malcolm, 11 (left), Evan McIlroy, 11, Elsie Button, 10, and Hamish Chapman, 11, in the school's native bush area. Photo / Andrew Warner

Lynmore Primary School pupils have been busy over the past few years getting stuck into the environment and helping to make a difference to the city's conservation.

And all the hard work was recently recognised as the school became a New Zealand Biosecurity Awards 2020 finalist in the Kura (School) Award section.

The school's predator trapping journey started five years ago when a parent offered the school a DOC200 trap to catch rats in the school's native bush area.

Five years on, Lynmore Primary School has made many biosecurity accomplishments.

Pupil Evan McIlroy, 11, says when they found out they were a school finalist for the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards they were excited and it felt really good.

Pupils travelled to Wellington recently for the awards ceremony at Parliament House.

Although they didn't win the school award, they were proud to be one of the three schools selected as finalists.

He says pupils have been doing trapping, catching catfish, doing a couple of bird counts and community trapping at Okareka.

Pupils have built and given out more than 100 traps to the local community, handed out more than 100 traps to the Whakarewarewa Pest Free group, helped maintain traplines on Mokoia Island bird sanctuary, and maintain two traplines in Whakarewarewa Forest, as well as a trapline in their school grounds.

They also work closely alongside Te Arawa Lakes Trust on catfishing projects in Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti, and have netted and removed hundreds of catfish from those lakes.

Pupils have also removed invasive plants from the native bush and planted native species with the support of Tatau Pounamu, Rotorua Tree Trust and Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

Elsie Button, 10, says she has enjoyed doing the trapping because you can see the difference it makes.

Evan says his favourite thing has been helping the community.

Hamish Chapman, 11, says he has enjoyed doing the bird count and seeing their progress.

Alex Malcolm, 11, says he has enjoyed catching catfish because you got to see things you can't see every day.

Alex says this kind of work and learning is important because it is helping to save New Zealand's conservation, which supports our tourism and economy, and helps support the biodiversity of our city.