The $85,000.00 we were awarded by IMPACT 100 will be invested in equipment and labour costs to start feral cat trapping in and around the Dart and Rees rivers near Glenorchy. This project will start later in the year.

We are delighted to report that we have been awarded $85,000.00 from IMPACT 100. The announcement was made in November at an awards dinner in Queenstown. $100.000.00 was given to an excellent charity, the Pivotal Point Charity Trust, worthy winners of the top prize. We were honoured to come second to them.

The overall mission of the Wakatipu Community Foundation is to grow local philanthropy. The IMPACT 100 model fits perfectly within this mission. IMPACT 100 aims to empower women to see themselves as philanthropists and overcome the barriers women have faced in this arena. IMPACT 100 is designed for transformational grant-making within local communities.

We are delighted to report that Simplicity, a non-profit and low fees KiwiSaver fund has kindly donated $36,000.00 to us for the second year in a row. These funds will continue to support our work.

This link takes you to a DOC website with information and links that explain Jobs For Nature.

$416,000 is being invested in additional stoat, possum and feral cat control in these two valleys on the north west side of Lake Wakatipu. This control work is estimated to employ six people across three years helping protect some of the country’s most vulnerable native species.

We are delighted to be one of the local conservation groups that are foundation members of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary.

We were impacted by COVID in 2020. Two regular sponsors were unable to support us - leaving a gap in our budget. I am delighted to say we were able to fill it with support from three new sponsors (a) Community Trust South in Invercargill (b) Simplicity, a low-cost non profit fund manager (https://simplicity.kiwi) and (c) Boffa Miskell (www.boffamiskell.co.nz). We are very grateful to all three organisations.

We recently applied to the WWF for some funds and we heard this week that we have been successful. These funds will help us support our feral cat trapping activities. Thank you WWF.

Our feral cat project started last week. After a successful two month trial on the Matukituki, traps were placed at the northern end of the Rees valley. The data from the Matukituki trial show that satellite linked technology and methodology work well and are efficient.

We will be doing a bird count on the rivers in the first half of November. The exact dates will depend on the weather and the river flows - last year we had to cancel due to this. The count will be completed over two to three days, weather permitting. We have several people who are volunteering their time - please be in touch if you wish to take part.

We were successful in our funding application to the DOC Community Fund, winning just over $19,000.00 to build and place traps along the Greenstone Road from Kinloch to Elfin Bay. This trap line will target hedgehogs, rats and stoats. We plan to have the traps placed within the next 2-3 months.