Introducing the Raumati Rat Pack!

by Vanessa Crowe, Sustainable Communities Coordinator

This month Raumati residents are being given the opportunity to rid their properties of irksome pests thanks to a community initiative whose aim is to make Raumati South a rat free area.

The Raumati South Residents Association in conjunction with the newly formed Raumati Rat Pack are inviting residents to come along to a 'make your own'  rat trap making workshop. Anyone interested is welcome to come along from 10am to 12pm on Sunday March 6 to the small park opposite Raumati South Shops. Here participants will help assemble the DOC designed rat-traps, which will then be available for sale at the reduced price of $16. The traps are built to exclude ground birds and pets, conforming to the NAWAC guidelines for humane traps, they provide a safe alternate to poison bait stations.

While eliminating rats from urban areas has great benefits for residents by preventing property damage and encouraging native wildlife, this project is also part of a bigger plan to restore and promote ecological biodiversity in the Kāpiti district.

Working closely with Paekākāriki Rat Pack, the Raumati Rat Pack is doing its bit to help eradicate rats from Raumati South, through Queen Elizabeth Park all the way to Paekākāriki. The initiative ties in with the ambitious Kāpiti Mainland Island project, whose vision is to create a pest free wildlife sanctuary similar to Kāpiti island on the mainland.

The “Mainland Island” includes Queen Elizabeth Park, Whareroa Farm Reserve, the Paekākāriki-Pukerua escarpment, including  the village of Paekākāriki.  Ridding the Raumati urban area of rats will play an important part in keeping the northern end of the land area protected.

Anyone is welcome to come along to the workshop and partake in building the traps. It’s a great way to improve the serenity in your own backyard while helping protect and sustain our shared local environment.

If possible participants are encouraged to bring a battery-drill with #2 square drive bit, tin snips or side cutters and a hammer. For more information contact Barrie Gordon: barrie.gordon@vuw.ac.nz 027 307 4739