Street Champion Kit

Predator control clusters 

Often neighbours will be quite motivated to host a trap or bait station – they may have had possums on the roof, rats in the pantry or they may be interested in increasing the bird life in their garden. 

Street champions stay in touch with their cluster of neighbours. At each predator control pulse (4x per year) they distribute bait (picking it up from PFK tool shed) and collect the data from their neighbours during the pulse, entering the results into trap.nz. 

Pest plant control 

While most street clusters to date have been focused on predator control, you can also work with your neighbours to remove pest plants from back yards and reserve land and plant natives. Organising a working bee, with a lunch, afternoon tea or BBQ afterwards, is a great way for the group to have an event together and strengthen neighbourhood resilience as well as getting rid of pest plants that can spread into the reserves. PFK can support with neighbourhood events, working bees and tree planting.

Engaging neighbours 

Street clusters vary in size, from five or six houses to groups of thirty or more. As a Street Champion, you can choose the size and area that feels manageable for you.  

Face to face contact with your neighbours is the best way to engage people and get them involved in predator and pest plant control. Start with the people you know already, and find out who else they know in the area. 

The aim (for predator control) is one in every three properties. If you have properties in your area that back onto reserve land, or with streams running through, target these first -- there are likely to be more predators, and it’s more important to remove pests from areas adjoining the reserves. People tend to be friendly and receptive, and many areas will have had PFK representatives door knocking before (e.g. during the buffer project). Read the door knocking guide included in this kit. 

You could choose to do a flyer drop and then follow up with door knocking a few days later. A flyer template is included – let PFK know if you’d like to put your details on it and how many you want printed, and we will organise this for you. 

Use this sign up sheet when you add new members and provide them with equipment.

Managing your cluster 

Setting up a few simple admin processes will make it much easier and less time-consuming as you go along. In this kit, you’ll find templates for a contact sheet, emails/messages to send at the start, middle and end of a pulse, a reporting sheet for you and a reporting sheet for cluster members. 

PFK offers a training programme, with workshops on predator control, pest plants, plant pathogens and planting skills. It could be good to encourage your members to attend the programme. Check the events page for upcoming workshops.

Halo member kit

There is a Halo Member Kit google site similar to this one that you can share with your halo cluster members. It gives an introduction to being a halo member, useful links including Health and Safety, and a link to sign up as a volunteer.

February is given as an example below.

There are many different things you can do to attract & engage new members of your Halo. Here are some ideas;

• Join in with existing events in your halo e.g. Street Christmas parties and talk to people about your halo project.

• Create events/gatherings, for people to find out about halos, with food, drink and activities. People want to connect - they’re looking for community!

• Talk to people you see, meet them on the street and have a chat with them to understand their interests, and share about the halos and how they can get involved. 

• Put a sign up outside your house to let people know about your halo project.

• When having a working bee/planting day etc, have a sign up while you’re doing it to invite people to join you while you’re out there in the middle of it.

• When you talk to people, identify what they’re excited about or what drives them. Is it to meet new people, or to feel like they’re contributing, or to get rid of the pesky possum on their roof at night? Ensure you’re thinking about what motivates them as you’re engaging new members, and existing members. 

We can have this two-sided flyer printed for you to use as you visit your neighbours. Just let us know if you want your details added at the bottom and how many to print.

Talking to people face to face is the best possible way to get engagement in a cause - in this case, to increase the likelihood of people a) taking care of weeds and predators on their property, b) talking to their neighbours about local weed and predator control and c) taking an interest in reserve working bees and events.

Before approaching people, it’s useful to think about the different ways in which people might react to a stranger or neighbour visiting them without prior arrangement.

Start by letting them know clearly who you are, why you are there and that you are connected with Pest Free Kaipātiki (wearing the T shirt and/or hi-viz vest gives you legitimacy). Then ask about them and take time to chat about the neighbourhood, finding any connections you have. Take an interest in them and listen to their responses. Once you feel you’ve made a connection, it will be much easier to talk to them about getting involved in ecological restoration.

Beware of any dangers, dogs or other issues on site; do not enter if there is a risk.

If you are approaching homes where you don’t know the occupants, do door your knocking in pairs. If you feel unsafe for any reason, don't approach and don't accept an invitation to come inside or around the back.

When using templates, you will need to make a copy for yourself, so that the template itself is left clear for future use. If you use Google Drive, you can select "file / make a copy". If you plan to use a different programme, like Microsoft Excel, you can select all, and then copy and paste into a new, blank sheet.

• Sign up sheet for new members.

• Contact list template - for keeping a list of your cluster members and their contact details. Please share this with PFK so we can include these people in our emails to volunteers.

• Email templates for use at each pulse.

• Reporting template - this has two tabs: one is for your whole cluster to report on bait taken during each pulse, and the other is an individual report sheet you can share with cluster members (as a link or a print-out).

• Running an event like a street party, BBQ or games day in the park is a great way to get neighbours together and talk to them about joining the cluster. It's also a great way to celebrate your successes, thank the people who participate and foster greater connection and social contact, which is a top reason people get involved in volunteering.  Use this run sheet template as a guide for planning your event and a checklist for tasks to complete on the day (and after).

  Please read and frequently refresh yourself with PFK's Health and Safety information and procedures.