The beautiful Catchpool Stream runs alongside the Orongorongo Track providing a great soundscape - sometimes even in stereo!

A walk along the Orongorongo Track is often a great auditory experience! Besides the bird-song, the sound of the many fast-flowing streams (like the Catchpool Stream depicted here) and of waterfalls nearby is both soothing and stimulating at the same time!

Voluntary positions recently filled:

Minute Taker - Kiwi Committee Meetings
Writer/ PR person(s)
Project coordinator - Dawn Chorus

Warning sign showing that you are about to enter a protected kiwi zone

These Kiwi Zone signs appear along the Sunny Grove, Whakanui, McKerrow and Orongorongo Tracks in the Rimutaka Forest Park.

This kiwi wasn't wearing his gumboots. Look closely at this mud puddle and you will see some distinctive kiwi tracks.

This kiwi wasn't wearing his gumboots. Look closely at this mud puddle and you will see some distinctive kiwi tracks. Photo credit:- Melody McLaughlin.

Still want to volunteer but haven’t found anything on the right that you can commit to?

The Trust also needs short term volunteers for the Catchpool Restoration Project. This project aims to give Nature a helping hand to speed up the reforestation of the hillsides with native plants and trees in order to quickly restore the original biodiversity of the area.

Other ways you can also help us are by becoming a member and/or a sponsor.

Please see our website for details: http://www.rimutakatrust.org.nz/

Still don’t see anything that appeals at the moment?
Please do check our website again as new roles may come available.

Thank-you for your interest; it is appreciated!

If this sounds like something you'd like to get your teeth into, then please contact Wendy Newton at this email address: volunteers.

Wanted!!

On these pages, you'll frequently find role descriptions for voluntary tasks that we're currently seeking to fill at Rimutaka Forest Park Trust.

If you are interested in contributing as a Volunteer, download this Volunteer Application form, complete it and send it back to us!

Or perhaps you'd like to join us as an Individual, Family or Corporate Member and contribute in other ways?

If so, please download our Membership Application Form here... (Adobe Acrobat Reader file 39.8kb)

"Restore the Dawn Chorus"
Catchpool Restoration, Stoat & Rat Trappers and Kiwi Project volunteers

Right now we need additional volunteers for the Dawn Chorus Project, the Catchpool Restoration Project and the Kiwi Project.

Trapping - Kiwi Project and Dawn Chorus

Clearing and re-setting traps along established trap-lines. Target pests are possums, rats, ferrets and stoats.

Tasks include clearing, baiting and re-setting traps and minor maintenance. Volunteers need to be reasonably ‘bush’ savvy and moderately fit. (You may need to be prepared to go for a walk for up to 5-7 hours each time depending on trap line).
Traps are checked monthly in winter and fortnightly in summer.

Each trap line is assigned a team of trappers, so frequency depends on number of volunteers enlisted (on average is currently about half a dozen trapping days per year per trapper). Trappers need to be prepared to handle dead animals.

Volunteers will all be provided with suitable training.

Minimum time commitment: we would appreciate you only volunteer if you can make a commitment to a period of 1 year or more, this is due to the time we need to invest in your training and the roster system we operate.

More Dawn Chorus Project trappers needed

The Dawn Chorus project has possum, stoat and rat traps which need to be frequently checked and re-set. These are on established trap lines ranging from 30 minutes to 3 hours long, all based within the Catchpool Valley.

Trap Servicing

Would you like to be part of our Fixit Team? With an ever-expanding network of traps, we need more people for our Fixit Team. Team members need to be regularly available and able to travel to traps all across the trapping network to make minor repairs in the field.

A high level of fitness is important as is time to commit to occasional 6-9 hour tramping days.

Volunteers will be provided with some training, but you should already be comfortable using basic tools.

Distance Trackers

Kiwi distance tracking maps the positions of kiwi that are radio-tagged. Knowing where the kiwi are allows us to locate the birds for health checks, observations, Operation Nest Egg, fitting and re-fitting transmitters and removing birds for protection or health reasons.

Distance Trackers are tasked with acquiring information on the position of radio-tagged kiwi from a distance. Trackers work in teams and are rostered into these teams (usually) for weekend tracking.

New Trackers will be rostered with experienced trackers until they become familiar with the procedure and the tracks and terrain. The number of persons rostered onto a weekend team and the frequency of collecting information (weekly, biweekly, etc) is determined by the changes to the levels of activity of our kiwi population - nesting season, new hatchlings, new introduced kiwi, etc.

Volunteers need to be reasonably ‘bush’ savvy and moderately fit. Tracking involves using maps, compasses and tracking receiver equipment.

Minimum time commitment: We would appreciate that you only volunteer if you can make a commitment to a period of 1 year or more. This is due to the time we need to invest in your training and our roster system.

Egg Stocker

There is a rough idea how many eggs are in demand each week by the trappers, the role is to restock the local Caltex Petrol station store with trays of eggs for the trappers. Would suit someone with the time to drop in and check the store regularly (particularly before weekends).

The Egg stocker volunteer(s) preferably need to live in Wainuiomata.

Kiwi Avoidance Training Database Administrator

We currently need someone with database skills to take over administration of the Kiwi Avoidance Training database. The database keeps details of dogs that either are fully certified or only have their interim certificate.

This role ensures dog owners receive certificates as required and follows up with interim certificate owners providing details of when the next training weekend is planned.

Plant Propagation Advisor

The Trust’s Catchpool Restoration Project requires someone with eco-sourced native plant propagation experience to coordinate the setting up of a nursery and seed-sourcing from within the Park

Other

Do you have some other skill that you could offer volunteer time for to help us? e.g. are you a marketing whizz or a journalist or good at writing submissions for funding?

Please let us know in the Volunteer Application form if you feel you have a skill that would be useful to us and you don’t mind volunteering your time to contribute.