Our project has grown to over 400 households since starting 7 years ago, but we now have less than 50 households actively trapping. Please, what has helped other PF projects get households trapping again, and/or keep them trapping?
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@sumnerpaul, what sort of reporting does your project use to share its results with households? Many people like to see/track their âkill statsâ, either from the project homepage or in a visual like a map, graph, or hexmap, and at Trapper level you canât see many of the TrapNZ reports that Admins can see.
If you havenât already got a hexmap for your project, you can make one by following the instructions here: Creating a static hex ⌠| Trap.NZ Help & User guides. The benefit of hexmaps is that you can put them on your website and the data will update automatically from TrapNZ. It also aggregates locations so exact trap locations arenât shown, which is important for privacy when traps are on private properties. One potential downside for some backyard trapping groups is that the list of target species includes âcatâ, which can be a divisive issue.
Heat-maps can be effective as well - you can make these here: Trap records | Trap.NZ It will depend a bit on your project as to whether these look good or not, and whether the maps show too much detail about who has traps and who doesnât, but you can spend some time experimenting with settings - for instance, displaying one year at a time vs All Time.
Monthly totals are available as either a graph or table. One feature that the table includes is a success percentage, which is a great stat if your trappers usually record every no-catch check and relure but isnât so helpful if they only record catches because then the stat inaccurately shows as 100% success.
Of course, I know not everyone likes maps and graphs as much as I do, but I think most trappers like to see how their little bit of the project fits into the bigger picture.
One other thought - if your project has been going a while and catch rates are getting a bit low, your trappers might actually be getting disheartened by their success. From experience, it gets really boring checking traps that donât catch anything for months at a time! If thatâs the case, maybe some of your volunteers might like to expand their areas to include a neighbourâs garden, or take up a line in a nearby reserve, or do some monitoring work (tracking tunnels, bird counts, weta hotelsâŚ) - basically, anything where they can see a direct and positive result rather than the indirect âabsence of evidence is not evidence of absenceâ vibe you get from empty traps.
You may already be doing some or all of this, but those are the things that Iâve found most helpful personally.
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Thanks Christina, we will wait and see what other comments come in, so weâll consider all your points. For starters, I think we have been poor re feedback - we used to do a monthly email, but itâs now less frequent. We offered opportunities for checking traplines in nearby bush. Those opportunities attract the keen regulars, so I am wondering how we up the game of the less committed trappers. I appreciate you taking time out to comment. Thanks. Paul
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Thanks for raising the topic Paul! I think itâs something that a lot of groups will relate to, and Iâm looking forward to seeing how the discussion develops.
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What a great suggestion -Creating a Static Hex map - And thank you for an excellent way to keep my group up to date! I have sent one out with a Hex Map link - brilliant idea. Like @sumnerpaul, I want to limit trapper fatigue. I figure keeping communication going is the best way to encourage people to make trapping part of their daily routines. TrapNZ is a brilliant resource but does need persistence to master all the reporting parameters.
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I intend to chat to some of our trappers and non-trappers, from the following three groups: trappers who report, trappers who donât report, and people who stop trapping. And I will find out what a Hex map is, as I think communication is part of the answer, both project-wide and individually. I am thinking that there may be something to learn from gaming and/or marketing. For example, providing feedback that summarises a trapperâs catches, and sort of provides a target, eg, how to get from bronze to silver.
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Smart Trapping Made Easy with trap.nz
trap.nz supports several smart tools that help make backyard trapping more efficient, compliant, and fun:
- Sensor Traps
Add a sensor to your trap, and trap.nz will notify you when itâs been triggered.
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For live capture traps, this helps you meet legal requirements by checking the trap promptly.
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For kill traps, it means you can remove the pest while itâs still freshâno more dealing with decomposing animals!
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QR Codes
Every trap created in trap.nz is automatically assigned a unique QR code.
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Scanning it opens the trap record instantly, so you can log a catch without opening the app or searching the map.
- NFC Tags
Just like QR codes, NFC tags open the catch form on your phone with a quick tap.
- Bonus: theyâre weather-resistant, making them perfect for outdoor use.
NFC tags can be purchased in our shop
Why use QR and NFC codes?
Because they save time! With one scan or tap, youâre straight into the catch form for the trap youâre standing next toâno fussing with maps or menus.
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Thanks Lenore, sadly we moved away from TrapNZ a few years ago for reporting catches. I say sadly as many of our trappers were very happy with TrapNZ, and it looks like you have improved it further with your NFC tags. Please, does your system go even further and provide the trapper (not the project) with feedback after they have logged a catch? For example, well done, keep at it, thatâs your 5th catch this year. Cheers, Paul
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Kia ora @sumnerpaul Iâm sorry trap.nz hasnât worked for your project. There have been huge changes in trap.nz in the last few years. Currently we donât have the ability to see the features you have mentioned, however, I do know they are currently being worked on where an individual can pull up reports on their own efforts etc