Three Enviroschools at Whangārei Heads have been partaking in the Guardians on the Lookout programme, helping the NRC Predator Free Whangārei possum eradication project with their monitoring.

Manaia Kindergarten, Parua Bay School, and Whangārei Heads School have been servicing trail cameras set near their facilities to see what lives around them.

They have been recording rats, possums, hedgehogs, exotic bird and kiwi! Whangārei Heads School have always spotted kiwi on their cameras which has been very exciting. This is thanks to the decades of conservation efforts from community members and groups.

For the two schools, the senior students will begin helping with trapping for possums, where the students should eventually be able to record zero possum presence, truly helping with the large landscape eradication project.

With adult supervision and correct PPE, students will be able to protect taonga species in their backyard and learn about innovative technologies like the AT220 self-resetting trap.

From kindergarten to intermediate ages, all students involved have been showing leadership and taking a greater interest in protecting their Whangārei Heads community predator free.