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Our co-chair Peter headed down to Te Puna Marama Moonspring on Friday to test things out ahead of our Weed & Release Party this weekend. With weeds cleared and fresh mulch around the plants, a few more of our seedlings now have some breathing room. His verdict? A bit of hard work, but rewarding to do something practical and positive. We’d love a few more helping hands to join us on Sunday 18 October. Whether you helped with the planting or are coming along for the first time, this is a lovely way to get involved and help our young plants along. Where and When - Te Puna Marama / Moonspring Sunday 18 October - 9:00am–10:30am Bring your gloves, closed shoes, a water bottle and any small gardening hand tools you have. Round up a friend and come along for a morning of weeding, chatting and getting involved with the team. Afterwards, we’ll head to the Aroha Cambridge Base for a sausage sizzle at our open shed morning. A well-earned bite and a chance to catch up after getting our hands dirty. RSVP via our Website, link in our bio arohacambridge events

We like to keep busy and we love bringing our community along with us. So do we have a jam packed morning for you on Sunday 18th October. Join us at our open shed morning and let us answer your burning questions about predator control, volunteering with us, our restoration projects and more. Or head on down to our Te Puna Marama Moonspring as we look to weed and release our plants we planted over winter. Come to one or better yet join us for both. Our Weed and Release team will head down to our Aroha Cambridge Base open morning and share a sausausage sizzle . Whatever your involvement or interest we would love to see you on the day. RSVP via our website so we can plan our morning www.arohacambridge.nz/events Te hono tangata, te whakaora taiao, mō tō tātou anamata

Our September trapping results are in! With another 233 catches this month, we are steadily chugging along, bringing our total for the year to 3,453. Still on track to absolutely smash out our 2025 results. Thank you to all of our supporters and regular volunteers who check our traps and maintain our lines in and around Cambridge, which we all benefit from. Te hono tangata, te whakaora taiao, mō tō tātou anamata

The Sculpture Park at Waitakaruru Arboretum have a jam packed weekend with a series of seminars happening onsite, with speakers covering pest control, bird bahaviour, design processes, soil patterns, and connecting with nature. Make seed bombs in the barn, and clay creations, learn about seed sowing and seedling care. Its a whirl wind of exciting options, over the last weekend of the school holidays, take the kids and enjoy this beautiful sculpture park clsoe to home. Happening Saturday 10th October and Sunday 11th October BOOK IN via their website - https://thesculptureparkatwaitakaruruarboretumartinnaturearboretumtrust.as.me/schedule/b742142c/?categories[]=Seeds%20of%20Renewal%20Event

Workshop full - what a response, Cambridge! We opened up extra spaces for our free kids’ tunnel box workshop, and you snapped those up too! A big thank you to everyone who registered - we’re thrilled to see so many keen kids ready to get hands-on. We can’t wait to have an exciting day. If you’ve RSVP’d, keep an eye on your inbox, closer to the date, we’ll be in touch with all the final details.

Vounteer Spotlight - We're recognising the contribution of long-time volunteer trapper Barry Christiansen. Originally from Taranaki, Barry developed a love of the bush exploring Taranaki Maunga. His conservation journey began in 2006 when he started controlling pests around the Wrights Bush QEII reserve near his Matangi property. Hundreds of possums and thousands of bait blocks later, the five-hectare bush remnant was thriving. Barry also spent eight years monitoring tracking tunnels on Maungatautari and, for the past four years, has helped maintain the trapping line along Soldiers' Track with fellow volunteer and trustee Berty Salmi. The 17-trap line regularly catches three to four rats per check, while possum numbers are now thankfully much lower. One of the highlights for Barry has been seeing native birds such as tūī and riroriro returning to the area. A Forest & Bird member for more than 45 years, his passion for protecting native flora and fauna remains as strong as ever. Barry was heavily involved in guiding us and demonstrating planting during our inaugural planting day at Te Puna Marama back in June this year. Thank you, Barry, for your dedication and the difference you continue to make in our community.

Did you know that we have a trap line along the Te Awa trail between the Gaslight Theatre and the Velodrome? Thanks to the Heritage funding from the Waipa District Council we were also able to extend and add traps along this line. Additional traps mean more trapping power, and after installation we caught more rats and possums straight away. Thanks to our initial volunteers on the line Will, Todd and new addition Mike who manage this trap line, they have now removed 455 pests from the track since the lines installation. If you live close to the Te Awa trap walk way or even if you just walk this track regularly and would like to make that walk count even more, we would love to hear from you. Get involved with our team, provide additional support and get trapping with our group. We are actively seeking additional support for our volunteers, so if you are keen to support but in a different area, please also do get in touch. To register to volunteer on our Te Awa line or somewhere close to home, contact us via - Connect@arohacambridge.nz or register via our website, link in our bio. Every action by volunteers and the community helps to support our local taiao and wildlife come back and thrive.

Calling all young conservationists! Build it. Take it home. Start trapping. Join us for a FREE hands-on kids workshop where you’ll build your very own tunnel box, then take it home with a trap and some peanut butter to get started with predator trapping at home. This is a fun way to learn how trapping works, with lots of hammering action taking place. We will have examples of wildlife we are supporting to protect through this work as well. Spaces are limited but if we book out we will open more slots, so RSVP as soon as you can. We look forward to seeing you there! When and Where - Wednesday 30 September - 10am Aroha Cambridge Base, 51 Thornton Road FREE - book now via our website - www.arohacambridge.nz/events