Arrowtowner Anna Harding-Shaw, who’s been a veterinary nurse for the past 20 years, the past 10 at Queenstown’s Remarkable Vets, has also been a long-time conservation volunteer.
In Wellington she worked in bird enrichment and educating roles for Zealandia, when it was the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.
More recently she’s been a voluntary trapper herself around Arrowtown’s Arrow River area and up Coronet Peak, which she’ll continue with.
WWT oversees 81 trapping groups with 600-plus volunteers maintaining 5000-plus traps that exterminate about 10,000 pests a year, including possums, ferrets and rats.
"They’re just going out every couple of weeks, in all weathers, checking traps, it’s just absolutely amazing.
"While they’re out there they’re pulling out wilding pines and all sorts of things."
Harding-Shaw says a big focus for her is drawing attention to how removing pests is increasing native bird populations.
"We really want to make that obvious, that we’re actually saving animals, and the way we save animals is removing ones that don’t need to be here."
WWT chairman David Penrose adds: "The kākāriki, for example, a small native parrot, is now coming back to the Bob’s Cove area which we haven’t seen for years."
With Covid-era Jobs for Nature funding drying up, WWT’s also on the hunt for public donations.
"We can’t afford to drop the ball right now, I think it’s imperative we survive as a charitable organisation," Penrose says.
He’s delighted with the calibre of his new executive officer — "it’s great to have somebody with a skill set that can only enhance the trust".
He adds her predecessor, Joanna Conroy, also did "an amazing job".
Harding-Shaw can be contacted at hello@whakatipuwildlifetrust.org.nz
