Kereru © James Allan
30th December 2025
It has been a busy year of connecting with our community! From school partnerships to markets, photography competitions to public talks, we’ve been working hard to make conservation accessible and engaging for everyone in the Whakatipu.
This summer we’re thrilled to expand our backyard trapping programme to Lake Hayes Estate, thanks to a grant from Predator Free NZ Trust. We’re offering free rat and possum traps to Lake Hayes Estate residents, complete with training and ongoing support.
Last summer we ran the same programme in Arrowtown with fantastic results, and we still have some traps available for Arrowtown community members who’d like to get involved.
Want a free trap for your backyard? Contact Anna at hello@whakatipuwildlifetrust.org.nz – training provided!
Earlier this year, WWT joined forces with Whakatipu Reforestation Trust, Enviroschools, ORC, QLDC, and Southern Lakes Sanctuary to form the Curiosity Collective – a collaborative approach to conservation education for schools. Together we’re a one-stop shop for local schools to get involved with habitat restoration projects, learning about replanting, water quality, pest control, and wildlife monitoring from our local experts.
Our first project has been with Queenstown Primary School at Matakauri Wetlands, and we have lots more exciting collaborations in the pipeline for 2026.
Continuing the spirit of collaboration, Conservation Week in September saw WWT partnering with other groups across a packed week of activities:
It was wonderful to see so many people getting involved and learning about the conservation work happening right in their own backyard.
We ran our annual Wildlife of the Whakatipu photography competition again this year, celebrating the incredible biodiversity on our doorstep. The prizegiving was held in November at Sherwood, where we announced the winning photographs across several categories.
Check out the winning photos HERE
Our 2026 Wildlife of the Whakatipu calendar featuring the competition photos has proved incredibly popular, selling out at the Remarkable Markets! If you missed out, contact us as we may have one or two left.
Speaking of markets, we attended the Remarkable Markets in the run-up to Christmas, selling calendars and WWT merchandise for fundraising, selling traps, and recruiting volunteers. It’s always a joy to chat with people about the birds they’re seeing in their gardens and hear their trapping success stories.
We’ll be at the Lake Hayes A&P Show on 10 January – come say hello!
We continued our Talk on the Wild Side series of public conservation talks throughout the year. In September, the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust came down from the North Island to give a fascinating talk at the Rees Hotel for WWT and Whakatipu Reforestation Trust supporters.
Earlier in the year we hosted Anna Yeoman talking about geckos and skinks, and Chrissy Wickes presenting “Art and the Albatross” – both wonderful evenings of learning and inspiration. Unfortunately we had to cancel our Peter Langlands talk on Australasian bittern due to illness, but we hope to reschedule in 2026.
QLDC Sports and Recreation team had an awesome trap building session in October at Lake Hayes. Eight volunteers from QLDC gave their time to help protect the Bird of the Century – the Australasian crested grebe / pūteketeke. It was wonderful to see council staff getting amongst it and showing what’s possible when organisations walk the talk on biodiversity.
The team smashed it, accomplishing an impressive amount in one day:
Seeing council staff rolling up their sleeves for hands-on conservation work is exactly the kind of leadership our community needs.
Kia kaha to Allan, Merle, and the QLDC team. Big thanks also to Blokhaus and Naylor Love for donating and preparing the trap box materials, making it possible for the team to build 20 boxes in one session.
The connections we’ve built this year – with schools, volunteers, partner organisations, and the wider community – are the foundation of everything we do. Conservation isn’t just about traps and predator numbers; it’s about regular people caring for the places they love.
Thank you to everyone who attended an event, took home a trap, came to a talk, entered the photography competition or simply stopped by our market stall to chat.
We’ve got exciting plans for 2026, including more Curiosity Collective school projects, expanding our monitoring programmes, and continuing to make conservation as accessible and engaging as possible.
See you at the Lake Hayes A&P Show!
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