Help Guide
Check out our quick guide to using this website. For more details, please read the instructions below.
- Sign Up Your Household to Predator Free Port Hills to be added to our trappers database. You will be sent an email putting you in touch with your local volunteer coordinator. Your local coordinator can sell you a trap at subsidised price and provide advice and support on backyard trapping.
- Add Your Traps to our Map. This helps us to build a picture of trapping across the Port Hills and Lyttelton Harbour. Search for your address on the map to position the trap. Click the map to move the blue pin. Add the trap type and ID. The Trap ID is there to help you find your trap later. Add the other required details and push submit.
- Record Your Catches. This helps us to assess how effective our programme is and to identify hotspots and gaps. Enter your address to zoom the map to your location. By default this will show a list of all traps within 100m of this address. Find the correct trap on the list and click the link 'Add a catch to this trap'. Complete the form and click submit. We recommend bookmarking this link for easy reference - by clicking it you go straight to your trap. You can also save this bookmark as a link on the homescreen of your mobile.
This website uses ArcGIS software and some older computers/browsers will struggle to load some pages, in particular the maps.
If you experience any difficulty with the website, please email us. We can help by signing you up manually, mapping your trap for you and sending you the direct link to your trap for adding catches, which avoids the need for using the map.
Check out our maps for information on progress to date:
- The Household Overview Map provides a snapshot of all households who have signed up to Predator Free Port Hills.
- The Pests Map shows the number of predators caught to date across the entire project.
- The Traps Map and Recent Catches includes a map of traps added to our website and a list of recent traps and catches that have been added.
- The 3D Flyover Map provides a flyover of all traps mapped on our website
- If you want to see how many predators your trap has caught, go to the Traps Map and Recent Catches. Search for your trap by address or trap ID. Zoom in and then click on your trap on the list. A record of all catches associated with this trap will appear.
- You can also filter by community area to see what's happening in your local area.
Getting Started
1. To sign up your household, Click Sign Up on the top menu.
Fill in your name and contact details.
Pin your location on the map or use the search bar to find your address and the pin will automatically move to the correct location.
Your address determines your community area (we use the Fire and Emergency suburb boundaries). Add your phone number and email address and click Submit.
By signing up to Predator Free Port Hills, you agree to be added to our trappers database. This means your household is added to our map, your details are emailed to your local coordinator and you are added to our mailing list for newsletters and events. You will be sent a welcome email including a link to our trappers guide. If you would like to buy a subsidised trap, please contact your local coordinator. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please click unsubscribe or email us.
You can also sign up if you are not in the Port Hills area. You will be added to our mailing list for newsletters and events and we will let you know if there are any predator free groups in your area.
If you are already on our trappers database, there is no need to sign up again. You are already on our list and we end up with duplicates (if you are unsure please email us to check).
Maps and dashboards
There are a number of maps and dashboards that show our progress towards a Predator Free Port Hills. You can search by community area and date range to see what's happening in particular areas and by selected time periods.
- The 3D Flyover Map provides a flyover of all traps mapped on our website
- The Household Overview Map provides a snapshot of all households who have signed up to Predator Free Port Hills. When you zoom in, the households disappear and the mapped traps appear.
- The Pests Map shows the number of predators caught to date across the entire project.
- The Traps Map and Recent Catches includes a map of traps added to our website and a list of recent traps and catches that have been added.
If you want to see how many predators your trap has caught, go to the Traps Map and Recent Catches. Search for your trap by address or trap ID. Zoom in and then click on your trap on the list. A record of all catches associated with this trap will appear.
2. New Traps
Most existing traps from Trap NZ have been transferred to the new website, including historical catch data. If you are unsure please email us.
If you have not previously mapped your trap in Trap NZ, you can add it directly to the new website. Go to Add a New Trap.
The first screen is to locate your trap on the map. Search for the address by typing it into the address bar search. You can also zoom in using the map functionality. To drop or move the blue pin, click the correct location on the map. If you have multiple traps at the same address, please move the trap to a different location in your backyard so the traps aren't stacked on top of each other. Once you have selected the address, click Next.
Now select the Trap Type and give your Trap an ID. Traps provided by the Summit Road Society have an ID on the side or you can type in your own Trap ID. The ID is used to help you locate your trap later on. The trap type and Trap ID are publically viewable.
The next step is to add your name and email address. There are no logins with the new system so this helps us contact you later if needed. All personal information such as name and email address is hidden from the public and only viewable by the local coordinator. You can also add a photo and notes if you wish. Again this is not viewable by the general public.
Click Submit and your trap has now been added to the map. If you want to find your trap on the map, go to the Traps Map and Recent Catches dashboard. Search for your trap by address or trap ID. Zoom in and then click on your trap on the list. A record of all catches associated with this trap will appear.
If you want to edit your trap later, you will need to contact your local coordinator. If you move your trap to the other side of your backyard, there is no need to make changes to the trap in our database as it is still the same address. However, please contact us if you have moved houses, want to edit the details of a trap or want to retire a trap.
3. Recording Catches
Catches are added to traps. You can only add a catch if the trap is in our database - either transferred over from Trap NZ or added directly via the website. Most existing traps from Trap NZ have been transferred to the new website, including historical catch data. If you are unsure please email us.
To add a new catch, please go to Record a Catch.
Enter your address to zoom the map to your location. By default this will show a list of all traps within 100m of this address. You can increase or decrease the search area by dragging the metre bar.
Find the correct trap on the list and click the link 'Add a catch to this trap'. This opens a new catch record. The trap name/code and trap type will be automatically completed. We recommend you bookmark this link for easy reference. By clicking it you go straight to your trap. You can also save this bookmark as a link on the homescreen of your mobile.
Please select the species caught and bait used from the drop down list. It will default to today’s date and to a count of 1 predator but you can change this if you like. Press Next.
There is an opportunity to add a photo and short story. We may use these photos in our newsletter and on Facebook to help highlight the good work everyone is doing. The catch location will default to the trap’s location. Click Submit and the catch is logged.
Catch information including trap ID, community area, species caught and bait used are publically viewable.
If you want to see how many predators your trap has caught, go to the Traps Map and Recent Catches. Search for your trap by address or trap ID. Zoom in and then click on your trap on the list. A record of all catches associated with this trap will appear.
Having Technical Issues?
The website uses ArcGIS software. We are very grateful to GIS in Conservation Volunteers who have developed this system for us pro bono. We recommend Chrome as your internet browser. Due to the maps, most pages work best on WIFI. However the 'Record a Catch' page is not map heavy and will work well on mobile data (we recommend adding the link for your trap to the homescreen of your mobile). If the maps fail to load, please check your cookies under your internet settings. Turn off the control that blocks third party cookies. Alternatively try a different browser. For help please email us.
Making Changes
The new website is based on an open reporting system and is similar to the reporting systems used by other predator free groups across the country.
This type of open and intuitive approach is used to make it easy for people to report their results. The easier it is, the more people report. The more people report, the more we can see the difference we are making and the more others are inspired to get started with backyard and community trapping. There are no logins (except for coordinators). This means that if you want to make changes to your contact details, traps or catches, please contact your local coordinator or email us. Coordinators have the ability to edit data and retire traps. If you have any suggestions on improvements for the new website please email us.
Privacy Information
When you join Predator Free Port Hills, your contact details are sent to your local coordinator and you will be added to our mailing list for newsletters and events. A house will appear on our public household map, however this only gives a general location. Personal details such as email address and phone number are not viewable by the public and the house disappears when you zoom in. When you add traps and catches, these will also show on our public maps and it is possible to zoom right in to the specific house. The trap type, trap ID and associated catches are viewable by the public. This kind of open system is used by other Predator Free groups across the country to make reporting easy and to help inspire others to join the movement.
The Trap ID is there to help you find your trap later. If you want to change the trap ID or to retire your trap, please contact your local coordinator. It is also possible to join the project as a household (noting only a general location is shown) and not add your trap and catches.