Volunteer stories: protecting Ross Creek, one trap at a time
Ken with his first rat on the line and a huge puffball recently!
Ken and Elly are part of the crew of volunteer trappers that check traps in Dunedin’s beautiful Ross Creek Reserve. Today Ken shares more about why he and Elly are involved…
What line do you check?
The Ross Creek B line (more than 60 possums, rats and mice have been removed from the line so far!)
How long have you been volunteering with City Sanctuary?
May 2022, exactly one year.
Can you describe your line?
The line follows well-established public tracks, starting from Woodhaugh Street and initially following the Water of Leith then leading through an old quarry before the track joins the main Ross Creek track heading gradually uphill to the Reservoir – about 2km in length. There is a great mixture of native bush, willow and sycamore at the lower track before it transitions through ferns and into mature native bush as you head up the hill. Being a very public track, the traps are hidden from public view - with a couple being challenging to get to, especially when the ground is muddy.
The Ross Creek trap network includes more than 200 traps. Note: traps outside the reserve boundary aren’t displayed on this map.
What motivated you want to start volunteering?
When I first came to Dunedin as a student in the mid-1980’s the dawn chorus used to be loud and long. Then over the years this has been getting gradually less and less, so gradually that you didn’t notice at first. I also do a lot of walking in the hills around Dunedin, at one stage I was heading into Silverpeaks every weekend. I’d be walking along towards Green Hut and there would be a pile of feathers on the track, then the next weekend another pile of feathers nearby, and another pile the following weekend. Then I started seeing stoats in broad daylight, that’s how brazen they were getting. Then a couple of years ago I noticed something else, mustelid traps started appearing on some of the tracks. “I have to be part of this”; I contacted the Halo Project who then forwarded my details onto City Sanctuary.
How do you stay in touch with your other crew members?
We have a “Ross Creek B line” WhatsApp group, with a bumblebee as the group icon.
Any funny/interesting stories to share?
I usually remove any catches before Elly gets too close to the trap but there was once when I didn’t spot the dead animal next to an A24. Elly bends down to check the trap and goes “arghhh, mouse”, and very quickly flings this dead mouse at high speed at head height into the bushes some distance away.
What species would you like to see flourishing again on your trap line?
Rifleman/tītitipounamu, we’ve heard them a couple of times when checking the trap line but are yet to see any.
Rifleman/tītitipounamu in Ross Creek Reserve. Credit: Awenithology.