Our Conservation Activities
Pest Free Leigh works across backyards, rural properties, coastlines, roadsides, reserves, and community spaces. Each activity is practical, local, and powered by volunteers.
Backyard Trapping
Our aim is to get a rat trap in every backyard, supported by a network of street coordinators. Backyard trapping helps reduce rats where people live, garden, and hear native birds returning.
Traps are free to households within our target area but a donation to help cover costs is appreciated.
We ask all trappers to report their results monthly. This data helps us identify rodent hotspots, track our progress, and report back to our generous funders
Rural Trapping
We provide traps and support pest control efforts on larger rural properties around Leigh.
Rural trapping helps protect bush remnants, wetlands, pasture margins, and wildlife corridors.
Monitoring
Monitoring helps us understand what is changing. Volunteers support quarterly tracking tunnel surveys, quarterly bird counts, and trail cameras that reveal what really happens after dark.
Tracking tunnels
Bird counts
Trail cameras
Traplines
Coastal traplines helps to protect kororā (little blue penguins) and other coastal wildlife, while roadway traplines supported by the Forest Bridge Trust target mustelids.
We currently have 20 traplines monitored by 40 volunteers. We look after traplines for The Forest Bridge Trust, Leigh Penguin Project and Te Kohuroa Rewilding.
Planting
We plant native species to replace weeds and strengthen local biodiversity.
The Coastal Care team has helped restore coastal areas through community planting and ongoing care.
Pest Plant Management
We are presently working toward a Leigh area free of Moth Plant and Woolly Nightshade and other noxious plants. Weed control protects native seedlings, coastal edges, and regenerating bush.
Below is information on what Mothplant and Woolly Nightshade (Tobacco Plant) look like and how to deal with them.
Our Target Area
Our target area connects with neighbouring pest free groups to strengthen the wider ecological network across the Rodney district.
Neighbouring Groups:
