Kerikeri River Restoration Project

17/06/2026

Great response from Kerikeri kids to our Trap WOF stations this week! It's all part of preparations for our Mid-Winter Rat Wrangle, which kicks off on Saturday. Our team was at Kerikeri Primary on Monday (see the photos) and Riverview today. Tomorrow they're off to Te Takarangi at Te Tii. Zoe Jefferies from Enviroschools has been coming along too, and having great messy fun making rat and possum lure. The rat-catching comp ends on 24 July. 🐀🐀

16/06/2026

Another reminder about our MID-WINTER RAT WRANGLE! 🐀🐀🐀
Our team visited Kerikeri Primary today; tomorrow they'll be at Riverview, and on Thursday, Te Takarangi (formerly BOI International Academy, Te Tii).
July is a critical time for predator control because native birds start to build nests 🪺 and lay eggs in August. Every trap makes a difference!
So... bring your trap along to our Trap WOF Station and we’ll help you:
✅ Safety check and tune your trap
✅ Learn effective baiting techniques
✅ Register or update your trap on trap.nz
✅ Link your trap to your school
✅ Collect a free trap measurement ruler
✅ Pick up a new trap (while stocks last)
✅ Go in the draw for spot prizes
School Visits:
🕝 Wednesday 17 June – Riverview, 2.30pm
🕝 Thursday 18 June – Te Takarangi, 2.30pm
🐀 Rat Wrangle Competition: 20 June – 24 July 🐀
Every catch recorded on trap.nz helps your school and protects our kiwi, tūī, kererū and other native wildlife! 🐦🦇
Bring your trap along – we’ll do the rest!

Send a message to learn more

16/06/2026

Looks the FNDC spotted our Facebook post about the rubbish dumped in the Dalton Track car park off Inlet road! Also, an RFS (request for service) has been lodged, so hopefully the mess will be cleaned up soon. Before it ends up in the river...
Almost everything dumped in the car park was recyclable and could've been taken to a transfer station for free.

15/06/2026

📣 Hey kids!! Te Hautū's MID-WINTER RAT WRANGLE is coming to your school! 🐀🐀🐀

July is a critical time for predator control, with native birds starting to build nests 🪺 and lay eggs in August. Every trap makes a difference!

So... bring your trap along to our Trap WOF Station and we’ll help you:
✅ Safety check and tune your trap
✅ Learn effective baiting techniques
✅ Register or update your trap on Trap.NZ
✅ Link your trap to your school
✅ Collect a free trap measurement ruler
✅ Pick up a new trap (while stocks last)
✅ Go in the draw for spot prizes

School Visits:
🕝Tuesday 16 June – KKPS, 2.30pm
🕝 Wednesday 17 June – Riverview, 2.30pm
🕝 Thursday 18 June – Te Takarangi, 2.30pm

🐀 Rat Wrangle Competition: 20 June – 24 July 🐀

Every catch recorded on trap.nz helps your school and protects our kiwi, tūī, kererū and other native wildlife! 🐦🦇

Bring your trap along – we’ll do the rest!

14/06/2026

Seriously, who does this?? 😡😡😡This pile of garbage was dumped in the Dalton Track car park (one of the entrances to the Wairoa Stream track), on Kerikeri Inlet Road, possibly on Saturday night or early Sunday.
Okay, sometimes the cost-of-living crisis and the high cost of rubbish disposal can be a factor in illegal dumping – but not in this case. A good 80-90% of this rubbish is bottles and cans, which can be disposed of for free at any transfer station, including the one in Waipapa. So the only factors at play here are laziness and ignorance.

13/06/2026

SAVE THE DATE: W**DING BEE! 🪚🌿👩‍🌾
Sunday 28 June, 10am to noon.
Meet at the start of the Kerikeri River Track (Stone Store end). Help us tackle exotic w**ds along the river like jasmine, ginger, climbing asparagus, black-eyed susan ... the list goes on! More details coming soon.

12/06/2026

W**D OF THE DAY: Jasmine
Another w**d that's RIFE along the Kerikeri River Track, especially at the Stone Store end.
Unlike to***co w**d, which we featured a couple of days ago and has no redeeming features whatsoever, jasmine at least has pretty flowers and smells great...
BUT the trouble with this fast-growing, long-living plant is that it forms thick mats over native vegetation, starving them of sunlight and eventually killing them. It also forms dense carpets on the ground, preventing regeneration. And as anyone who's tried to remove it will know, its vines are incredibly tough.
Check out the Northland Regional Council website for advice on how to get rid of it (spoiler alert: it ain't easy): https://www.nrc.govt.nz/environment/w**d-and-pest-control/pest-control-hub/plant/jasmine/

09/06/2026

W**D OF THE DAY: Woolly nightshade / to***co w**d.
Nasty, nasty, nasty. Surely one of our worst w**ds, for a whole host of reasons. Woolly nightshade is rife in Northland, including in Kerikeri.
It's rarely found within intact bush but it's common alongside roads and forest margins, and anywhere the original vegetation has been disturbed.
It grows fast and can crowd out native plants; it also poisons the soil, which stops native plants taking hold. It produces lots of seeds, starting it its first few months of life.
And its grey-green leaves are covered in fine, fur-like hairs that come off when touched, irritating the skin, eyes, and lungs. Definitely a plant to be avoided if you have asthma.
Oh, and the berries are (mildly) toxic to humans. It even smells bad.
It regrows quickly when cut down so the stumps needs to be poisoned to stop it coming back. Like we said, nasty...
More info about how to tackle it here: https://www.nrc.govt.nz/environment/w**d-and-pest-control/pest-control-hub/plant/woolly-nightshade-to***co-w**d/

And in case you're wondering, yes, it is related to to***co. Both are members of the nightshade family. But for god's sake don't try smoking woolly nightshade, it is toxic as well as a skin irritant.

07/06/2026

W**D OF THE DAY: Black-eyed Susan
Gah!! This vine with its deceptively pretty yellow flowers is RIFE along the river around the Heritage Bypass bridge, where it has smothered pretty much every other living thing … possibly including other w**ds, it's hard to tell what's underneath!
According to the Northland Regional Council, black-eyed Susan is a problem on forest margins and on stream sides in particular. It smothers native trees and cuts off their light, preventing growth. Native seedlings are also inhibited due to lack of ground space and light.
It's also a prolific producer of seeds, which are spread by popping seed pods.
It can be removed by hand but you have to be sure to get all the roots.
Go to https://www.nrc.govt.nz/environment/w**d-and-pest-control/pest-control-hub/plant/black-eyed-susan/ for more information.
(PS we get the “black-eyed” but, but what about the rest? Who was this mysterious Susan?)

03/06/2026

So who knew Steve Allan, inventor of the world-famous-in-NZ Steve Allan trap, lives and manufactures his wares in an isolated valley near Kaitaia? (Takahue to be precise). Well, okay, maybe you did, but we didn't...

Steve Allan has spent nearly 50 years trapping, designing and making traps to protect New Zealand bush and birds.