Local pest control & jobs boost

Josh Haworth, enrolled in our Year 12 Manaaki Ao course at Raglan Area school, discussing possum control with local landowner. Josh is developing a plan to use the possums to create high value dog food. This allows an alternative and more high value income than the fur, which has dropped in price from $120-$90/kg since the Covid outbreak. Josh will receive credits, as well as valuable experience, from the enterprise.

Karioi Project has expanded to meet demand and offer our trapping services to local landowners and residential customers. Using the knowledge we’ve built up during a decade of predator control, this service acts as a social enterprise to create jobs within our community. All profits are returned to conservation on the maunga and around the coastline.

Over the years, our educational programmes at Raglan Area School have created a resource of skilled graduates, ready for emerging jobs in the environmental sector. To date, we’ve provided paid employment to three graduate students from the Manaaki Ao programme, as well as a team of five rangers, currently creating a track network for predator control on the eastern slopes of Karioi.

“Allowing school leavers to tackle environmental issues such as invasive predators on Karioi and around Whaingaroa does more than just remove rats and possums. It empowers youth and local people in the community,” says Ranger Duncan who leads the work on the ground and at Raglan Area School.

Intensive predator control on the maunga has kept our rangers busy cutting tracks to areas previously only accessed by helicopter and aerial 1080 operations. “This season we’re controlling rats and possums with double tap bait in bait stations. This reduces impacts on native birds and other non-target animals such as wild pigs. We continue to use traps for stoat control and to trial the effectiveness of new products such as pheromone-based lures.” says Ranger Dunc.

If you have a pest problem around your house, farm, or bush block, contact us for a free quote. All proceeds go to employing local, skilled staff (and Manaaki Ao graduates) and to funding ongoing multi-species predator control on Karioi.

Over the years, our educational programmes at Raglan Area School have created a resource of skilled graduates, ready for emerging jobs in the environmental sector.