Pics and vid of our work....
Video courtesy of Agni
For the school newsletter:
Rats stopped by their tracks
The Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust works to ensure Adele Island remains pest free and this year they have a helping hand from the 2017 level 2 Earth and Marine Science class. These 17 students have been working on an innovative project to keep rats from getting onto boats in the first place. So far, this hands-on project has involved placing tracking tunnels around the Nelson marina to monitor rodent numbers and then putting out 17 bait stations to permanently ‘stop’ any rodents.
“If the rats don’t get onto the boats, then their beach holiday in the Abel Tasman doesn’t get traction (track-shon)” say Mr Bloomfield. “Dad-jokes aside, if we can stop these pesky critters getting into the park then that means more birds… and more birdsong year after year.”
A recent field trip to the Abel Tasman National Park facilitated by Abel Tasman Eco-Tours and supported by the Birdsong Trust allowed us to carry out baseline bird monitoring. We also got to hear first-hand what it is like to have birds chirping away on Adele Island (a pest free island) and then compare the island birdlife to that on the mainland where rats are still present.
The Abel Tasman National Park is an amazing asset right on our door-step and on this trip it was fantastic to see students take part in citizen-science and be bold enough to swim – in September!
Rats stopped by their tracks
The Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust works to ensure Adele Island remains pest free and this year they have a helping hand from the 2017 level 2 Earth and Marine Science class. These 17 students have been working on an innovative project to keep rats from getting onto boats in the first place. So far, this hands-on project has involved placing tracking tunnels around the Nelson marina to monitor rodent numbers and then putting out 17 bait stations to permanently ‘stop’ any rodents.
“If the rats don’t get onto the boats, then their beach holiday in the Abel Tasman doesn’t get traction (track-shon)” say Mr Bloomfield. “Dad-jokes aside, if we can stop these pesky critters getting into the park then that means more birds… and more birdsong year after year.”
A recent field trip to the Abel Tasman National Park facilitated by Abel Tasman Eco-Tours and supported by the Birdsong Trust allowed us to carry out baseline bird monitoring. We also got to hear first-hand what it is like to have birds chirping away on Adele Island (a pest free island) and then compare the island birdlife to that on the mainland where rats are still present.
The Abel Tasman National Park is an amazing asset right on our door-step and on this trip it was fantastic to see students take part in citizen-science and be bold enough to swim – in September!
Three reports:
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Pics of us making tracking tunnels, setting them out, putting out bait stations and visiting the Abel Tasman
More info about our trips and task here