Le Cahier Bleu

Mural celebrates Miramar’s eradication of rodents

Miramar Predator Free et EMPI ont inauguré une peinture murale pour fêter le succès du programme d'éradication des rongeurs sur la péninsule. J'y suis allé et en ai profité pour écrire un petit article. Celui ci discute des différentes initiatives en cours sur la péninsule pour en faire un petit havre de Nature.

Le 27 Juin 2020 - Tags: opinion, scoop, noflyzone


Report from Benoit Pette

A new mural was inaugurated at the Miramar cutting today to celebrate the (almost complete) eradication of all rodents on the Peninsula. The painting reminds the community and visitors of this outstanding achievement, a goal that seemed unthinkable only a few years ago.

For James, Project Director of the Predator Free program across Wellington, this is only a first step: later, the program will expand to Kilbirnie, Newtown, and then further north, making Wellington eventually completely rodent-free. But for now, it shows how serious residents of the Peninsula are about restoring and supporting the return of the birds like the kākā, kākāriki and kārearea. It is also a testament of successful cooperation between the community, a network of volunteers and the businesses, who supported the initiative via the local BID.

So will Miramar become the new Zealandia and a new destination for nature lovers? The community certainly makes a lot of effort to realise this dream. As well as Predator Free Miramar, a few other initiatives are also aiming at helping birds to return.

During the lockdown, the lack of engine noise acted as a magnet for birds in places where they hadn’t been seen in decades. This sparked the noflyzone initiative, which is looking at ways to minimise noise from the sky. In the same vein, the soon to be launched Miramar trail will invite nature lovers to discover the Peninsula’s environment, meandering through the bush and along the coast from the Southern to Northern tip.

Predator Free, Noflyzone, the Miramar trail: all these community-sponsored initiatives will not only transform Miramar into a nature haven in the middle of Wellington, but they will also cement it as a destination for lovers of the environment.

- Benoit -