Public Talks
Since 2022 we’ve been organising public talks to educate our community about nature-related topics of interest. The calibre of our guest speakers has been tremendous so far. We’ve been captivated by talks given on topics such as ‘Otago’s Bugs and Lizards’ by Samuel Purdie and ‘Genetics, Mustelids and Predator Free 2050’ by Dr Andrew Veale. Feedback from our community has been fantastic and it’s been wonderful to host so many experts from around the South Island.
Community Events
We’ve run a number of workshops such as ‘build your own rat trap’ or ‘learn how to trap pests’. We have also contributed at community events such as the Wānaka A&P Show, WAO Summit’s Sustainable Biking Tour, Volunteer ‘Speed Dating’ and Pestival. Members of our committee have given talks at various local meetings such as community associations, Aspiring Retirement Village, Wānaka Rotary, U3A and NaturED events. We’ve also sent members of our group along to DOC trap training courses to upskill them with the knowledge to be more successful and follow best practice.
School Education
With our Community Engagement Coordinator on board since 2021, we’ve had the chance to do more outreach to young people in our community. Petrina has talked to numerous preschool groups (Riverside Educare, Mountainside Educare, Aspiring Beginnings) and primary schools (Wānaka Primary School, Te Kura O Take Kārara) about trapping, introduced pests and native biodiversity in our region. Petrina has also been supported by Billy Barton and Mary Hunt (pest control, dog training, ferret work) and Samuel Purdie (science communicator) during these visits. Petrina joins in with the local EnviroSchools events and the NaturED team of nature educators.