Pest Detectives

By Lucy (age 5)

For Conservation Week, we went to a DOC event at White Pine Bush in Hawkes Bay.  We became “pest detectives” by building a tunnel with an ink pad and peanut butter inside.  When the predator walks through it to eat the peanut butter, they leave footprints on some white paper.  We had a fun day at White Pine Bush building the tunnels, going on a nature walk, and playing with other children.

At home, we set up our tunnel.  We wanted to find a good place where predators might go, so I put it behind some bushes in the garden.  The first night it rained, and although our peanut butter was gone, any footprints had been washed away.  But, we set it up again and today we found footprints!  We checked on the DOC website to compare our footprints to the common predators in New Zealand.  My brother and I think it is a hedgehog.

You can become a Pest Detective too: https://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/conservation-activities/become-a-pest-detective/