Thursday 21 December, 2023
Did you see us at the show?
An informative and educational display was the feature of the Gisborne District Council stand in the trade section of this year’s show -- put on by the biodiversity and biosecurity teams.
The focus of the display was protecting our environment through controlling pests -- both plants and animals.
We had a range of widely available traps on display provided demonstrations on how to set them safely and how they work throughout the two days of the show.
A popular part of the display was the taxidermy animals, kindly on loan from Department of Conservation - a range of native taonga species alongside some of the pests that threaten them.
People were particularly amazed at how tiny weasles are, yet they can cause so much damage to our wildlife.
Another display favourite was the “lift the flap” board on how to tell the difference between our native toetoe and the invasive pampas.
The Native Garden Nursery at Makaraka kindly lent us a fantastic variety of native plants to give our stand a forest feel.
We had a great response to our pest and plant trivia questionnaire to win one of two awesome bird feeders with 77 entries. Answers had to be correct to win. Congratulations to our lucky winners Ann Sutherland and Jane Burgess. A third spot prize of a predator-free kit was won by Maxine Tiopira.
If you would like any information on any of the traps on display, or if you think you may have a moth plant lurking down the bottom of the garden, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of the team.
You can email integrated.catchments@gdc.govt.nz or go through Customer Services 06 867 2049 or 0800 653 800.
