Predator Free Waihī Beach gets $10,000 boost from Pio Shores association

The community-led Predator Free Waihī Beach project has received a significant shot in the arm, with the Pio Shores Sports and Community Association donating $10,000 to be spread over 12 months. The funding will go directly toward trapping equipment, bait, volunteer training, and monitoring efforts in the Bowentown area.

Co-ordinator Susan Lean says the contribution is a game-changer for the project, ensuring trapping can continue, monitoring programmes can expand, and more volunteers can be engaged to protect the coastal environment. So far, the group has eliminated more than 2,700 target predators — rats, stoats and possums — and is already seeing the return of bellbird/korimako, morepork/rūrū, and bittern/matuku-hūrepo to the area.

Pio Shores treasurer Gail Kelly says Bowentown is a special place worth protecting for future generations. The project aligns with the national Predator Free 2050 vision and has growing support from local volunteers, businesses, and organisations. Community members can sponsor a trap or trap line from as little as $50 through the Predator Free Waihī Beach Community Partnership Programme by emailing predatorfreewaihibeach@gmail.com.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).