5.9.1 Whirinaki Ecological Technology (We-tech)
Description:
This Project is to grow electronic and application focused software development capability in Whirinaki , opening opportunities for our rangatahi to grow. Its focus will be around environmental sustainabilty, enhancemant and education projects.
The following pest trap example after proving the concept is feasible, is now on the back burner until we have built up more community skills to take it forward. To grow these skills at our Kura we are encouiraging students at an early age to be very comfortable with electronics and technology. In 2011 both our Teaina and Tuakana classes both were awarded 3rd place in the Annual Brightsparks awards for their age groups.
Our unigue school / place based research program is about understanding and sharing with the world, much more about the the koha (the free gift) that rainforests give to support all life on our planet Rainforest - Ecosystems services value research . This required us to install a weatherstation at our Kura, then develop and build the special instrumentation we need for this, as we and our partners are trying to explore things about our forest and catchment that are not well understood even by many scientists.
  
Using our water flow meter and the sensor stations we have built to capture forest environmental conditions
  
Our forest wireless receiver / logging station, a version of which is fitted on bridges to record river flows.
Our First More Commercial Project Opportunity - Smart Pest Control
We are thankful for the commitment that DOC has made to establish the Whirinaki Ecological Management Zone WEMZ, where a shield of intensive pest control provides an area in which endangered species can re-establish themselves. This involves maintaining a grid of traps and bait stations within the protected areas, plus wider pest control around its borders, often achieved by the widespread use of 1080 and other toxins. Despite all this, some species like the Blue Duck are still in jeopardy as a result of Stoat, Rat, Cat and Possum intruders.
For the Ngati Whare Kaitiaki of this area there is a natural conflict of values between the need to control pest and the widespread use of toxins in what is otherwise a pristine environment which also provides a food source for local people. Signs such as this cast worries and doubt in the minds of visitors who are attracted to New Zealand for what they were promised as a 100% pure experience.
DOC with Maori and many other government agencies and research establishments are working on alternative poisons and other more effective forms of control for the long term.
 Many local community people have been involved in this activity in partnership with DOC so have built up knowledge about the behavior of pests (who also learn and evolve new ways of avoiding such man-made threats to their existence - including possums kicking stones and dirt into traps to set them off before eating the bait, or rats licking just the non toxic part on the outside of Cyanide capsules).
Pest extermination is a battle of wits, where at this stage the moves we humans play are quite mechanical. This project is about researching, developing and manufacturing much smarter devices and processes to help us in this battle, and thus to see Whirinaki and our Community acknowledged internationally for being at the forefront of innovation.
The Whirinaki smart-trap - Proof of Concept Prototype
In Jan 2010 we built a proof of concept exterminator / trap that proved that our basic design was technically achievable.
The current trap construction used readily available low cost materials and is configured as a tube exterminator designed for rats and stoats. It can be either ground or tree trunk mounted. The technology and principles can be easily redeployed in a different physical form for other species like possums, rabbits, hares, wild cats, pigs.
Obviously the production cost of this is beyond traditional mechanical traps, but the payback is related to the total cost of control in an area, and the long term ecosystem and health liabilities that are likely to follow the continued widespread use and indiscriminate application of 1080 and other such poisons.
  
This proof of concept prototype unit is now (June 2010) being repackaged and redesigned into a more compact, robust and watertight unit capable of even resisting attacks by inquisitive Kaka beaks etc.
Whirinaki Smart-trap MkII Research Prototype ( For stoat and rat research at this point)
 
This is the mechanical layout of the version planned for manufacturing the ten units planned for application research. It includes the ability to experiment with a smaller diameter tube 65mm in place of the 80mm shown.
The electronics is housed on a small printed circuit board that slides into the smaller caviity together with a drop in 4.8volt rechargable battery. The larger cavity holds the drop in prefeed / toxin hopper assembly (currently designed for Connovation Ferafeed / Ferratox pellets.) The design we plan will allow this to be replaced with a PAPP application module when this toxin is approved. A separate hopper can be fiitted over the tube to allow pre-feed to be fed along with toxins.
As well as allowing a range of lure, prefeeding (pest lure training) and toxin strategies to be tried, for research purposes an optional inbuilt video camera provides a time stamped record of pest interactions at the entrance and within the tube of the unit.
Outcomes expected:
| OUTCOMES DESIRED TO BE OBTAINED |
FEATURES THAT DELIVER THESE |
Trappers will not need to make daily trips into the bush - very risky for personnel if required to be done in bad weather.
Also this is very expensive in areas that require helicopter access or long foot treks |
Operates unattended for more than a month on three AA cells in all weathers
Reliable with no sensitive mechanical settings, no exposed moving parts and little technical knowledge required to support it
Baits, lures and poisons are held protected from the environment to preserve their effectiveness for longer periods. |
| Area of attraction is wider - requiring less traps and/or achieving less breaching of trap lines |
Supports lure technology that attract pests using many different senses visual, sound, smell, light
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| Trap rejection by learned behaviour is less - encouraging exactly the opposite. |
Intelligent automated pre-feeding strategies that condition pests to see this is a safe food source, triggered by the lures above
Pests are not trapped, they go elsewhere to die, perhaps infecting their nesting babies while very small.
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Safer use and containment using more targeted poisons - secondary kill of their predator species is diminished ( eg Ruru that hunt rats) |
Dispensed one at a time in place of pre-feed pallets or applied directly to intruder
Type and dosage better optimised for each species ( as attracted by specific lures)
Stored and applied safely within the trap tube itself |
| Bi- kill of other species is reduced |
Timer facilities can allow the trap to operate at optimum feeding times eg by day/night/ morning, evening
Physical tunnel is sized and orientated to be species specific
Can be mounted on the ground or on trees to minimize intrusion by non targeted species |
| Traps are lighter and easily carried - no need to enclose in heavy boxes etc to guard against entry of other protected species and birds |
.Weight less than one kilogram depending on configuration.
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| DOC Pest Management Monitoring activity is automated - simplifying evaluation and research processes |
Statistics on intrusions are stored in the unit for later readout during trap replenishment trips.
Can install a chalk raddle ( used by Farmers on sheep) in the tube to mark intruder backs to help evaluate trap effectiveness
Also able to trigger timed video recording of intruders for research purposes. |
| Technology adaptable to other species restoration / research uses |
Re configurable in other mechanical configurations for other pests
Automated supplementary feeding of endangered species without encouraging human association behaviours.
Monitoring species nests for species or intruder movement.
Providing a possible alternative to current species monitoring tunnels |
| Flexible programing and smarter configfurations for the future |
Modular design options
Software driven functions |
| Outcomes for Youth / Kura and Learning in the Community |
A unique learning opportunity that will cater for a wide range of our community youth's interests, incl:
- project management,
- electronics,
- microcomputer programming,
- product design,
- software applications,
- pest behavioural research,
- forest operations research,
- pest control operations,
- product application research,
- enterprise development,
- business leadership,
- manufacturing,
- marketing,
- collaborative teamwork
- sharing knowledge
These skills will open staircase opportunities into further education or other jobs (for example DOC) inside or outside Whirinaki.
For the Kura this can become both a carrier and motivation for student learning.
For whanau, this will allow young people
be creatively employed and committed to their local community, rather that be a "stolen generation" forced to leave home for work
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Outcomes for the Whirinaki / Ngati Whare Community
(Potential benefits as part of the Whirinaki Kaitiakitanga Program) |
International recognition as a centre of excellence for pest and species management. (Kaitiakitanga in Action)
Hosting conferences and retreats on the marae
Research contracts for pest / species behaviour evaluation and control
More nature focused intellectual property. This technology is already assigned for all time to the place Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi This is in line with the Kaitiakitanga value of sharing knowledge for the future wellbeing of all.
A Smart-trap manufacturing and knowledge sharing enterprise in the valley led largely by rangatahi who will grow and contribute sustainabilty and leadership skills for the future.
Koha - (a different form of technology licencing) from other places worldwide who get benefits from it
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Preliminary Program Outline: (Decision gates at the end of each learning stage before proceeding to next )
Stage 1 - Proof of Concept prototype completed April 2009
All completed using Koha funding and time - Strategic Expertise Ltd
(Some trials and design enhancements are already underway in preparation for the next stages).
Stage 2 - Form an Ohu ( win-win Alliance) incl DOC, researchers, biotech companies and Maori and funding agencies
This is emerging and likely be largely in place by end of May 2010
Stages 3,4,5 are proposed as a WINZ Community Max programme (or equivalent). Run in Minginui starting in June
covering - set up costs, employment of facilitator, operating costs and wages for around 4 youth
Stage 3 - Manufacture 10 research units in Minginui (focusing on rats and stoats) June
We are looking for seed funding to help:
- Restore a suitable dedicated working area in an existing building around $5000 - $20,000
- Equipment to establish the capability required (design , production and test equip) $5000
- Material costs to make 10 research units (incl some dev costs) around $4000
Stage 4 - Application trials of Mainland Island (WEMZ) protection strategies, July - Sept 2010
Research into animal behaviours, lure response, pre-feeding strategies, poisons and trap density
All to be focused on building up local capability and local youth leadership / enterprise skills which will result in ongoing innovation, new relationships and improved environmental / diversity management.
We are looking for research funding partnerships to help support this work
Stage 5 - Migrate towards a commercial entity Oct - Nov 2010
a. Design robust re-production prototypes for stoats and rats
b. Propose and outline design products for other species and purposes (eg research monitoring)
b. Establish a business case for a commercial entity in Minginui to take this forward incl:
Manufacture of units for sale to others as a local industry
Carrying out further ongoing application research and learning
Providing national training and support services from Whirinaki
Licensing of technology to others, perhaps internationally
Growing a range of activities to provide paths for local youth
Undertaking DOC and other pest control contracts in Whirinaki and beyond
Using returns to provide staircase scholarships to nurture local youth to grow further
A strong focus on organic leadership, development, agility and resilience to thrive in complex times based on Tipu Ake ki te Ora principles
We propose that Enterprise / Regional / Maori development funding be used to help commercialise this opportunity
Stage 6 Establish Whirinaki Ecological Technology (We-tech) as a commercial entity ( if appropriate) 2011
Even if at the time this was not seen to be feasible in this form, the experience of going down this learning path would have opened up other self leadership and career opportunities for local youth whose talents are currently under-valued and under-utilised.
Start Date:
Expected Completion:
Budget:
Nominal Project Leader:
Peter Goldsbury, Strategic Expertise Ltd is coordinating this and providing support for the initial technical incubation stage, but this will be quickly taken up by local people.
Project Team:
This will be led by the "We-tech Ohu" a network of community and other partners working together on a win-win basis to help nurture opportunities for our rangatahi and outcomes for Whirinaki , Te Urewera and beyond.
Issues / Opportunities and Risk Register:
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Progress, Achievement and Issues Log
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| Date |
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| Oct 09 |
Community members who have much expertise in this field expressed a need for better technology to assist in pest control and made numerous suggestions |
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| Nov 09 |
Prototype controller module built to test design capability |
pg |
| Jan 10 |
Prototype Proof of concept trap constructed to test concepts |
pg |
| 10 Feb |
Obtained a range of samples and data from Connovation - Thanks Lyn |
pg |
| 12 Feb |
Ran the concept and prototype past a number of people in the community and beyond, including Whanau support as a possible project for further youth upskilling after the current community max initiatives. Also to the kura as an opportunity to get students involved in uniquely local research. |
various |
| 14 Feb |
Made the Ngati Whare runanga aware of this project and asked for their verbal support please
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pg |
| 15 Feb |
Communications initiated with researchers in this area via Shaun Ogilvie Lincoln University and other biotech companies that may need to be involved for lure bait and toxin supplies |
pg / SO |
| 22 Mar |
Discussed the project with Robert Taylor runanga trustee involved with the DOC relationship - Their focus is on getting the treaty arrangements formalised. This project is outside that and is more general and independent. |
PG/ RT |
| 23 Mar |
Discussed with Whanau Support the status Community Max project and look to see if this could be a follow up enterprise development opportunity for some Rangatahi. Emailed Shareen Simpson- Almond TPK asking for her help to get this venture recgonised and encouraged please. |
pg / SSA |
| 23 Mar |
Discussed with Bob McMahon, Chairman Ngati Whare Trust, the possible need for some space to house this project. He reaffirmed his commitment to support any initiative that brings appropriate work into the valley. Two options considered are the Whare in the compound which needs a lot of work or alterrnatively a tidy up of the room at the rear of the hall closest to the road (needs window repairs some weatherboard replacement, spouting, install insulation, relining, painting and external painting) |
pg / BM |
| Apr |
Further contact with Shaun Ogilvie (Lincoln) who suggested we meet with Charlie Eason (Connovation) with the objective of forming a win-win alliance with both research and Biotech development organisations. |
pg |
| 3 May |
Preliminary Program stages above proposed |
pg |
| 7 May |
Initial rat luring trials done using prototype with Glenn Baker, Mahurehure Marae, Pt Chev. Had at least for intrusions into the tube. |
gb |
| 11 May |
Contact and striong interest from Darren Peters ( traps) and Elaine Murphy (toxins) DOC Head Office Elaine referred us to Duncan McMorran , Connovation |
pg |
| 13 May |
Met at Rangataiki DOC with Graeme Weavers (Pest Control), Matt Hickson (Threats) was out. Demostrated trap concepts and he also related it to some opportunites (including research monitor units) in their operations. Keen to assist this local development of youth, product and smarter systems in Whirinaki. |
pg MW |
| 14 May |
Informal meeting with School, Whanau Support and community members in Whirinaki to have them help plant seeds for the oportunities that it could bring for local youth and work - learning, electronics, product design, computing, application and pest behavioural research, pest operations in park, enterprise development, manufacturing. |
Kura/ WS etc |
| 14 May |
Contacted Robert Taylor, Ngati Whare Runanga but unfortunately a tangi prevented us meeting to demonstrate the prototype unit and discuss support for this community venture. |
pg / RT |
| 14 May |
Meeting with Malibu Hamilton, Kaitiakitanga Network partner in Raglan. They would like a trap to trial on their Karioi Maunga restoration and pest management project. |
pg MH |
| 18 May |
Meeting with Duncan MacMorran Connovation - got information that results in an improved mechanical design to cater for new toxins in the pipeline etc. |
pg DM |
| 23 May |
Solicitating support in the form of seed funding / resources for this initiative from Local Authorities, Govt, Researchers, Education, Companies, Iwi and others wanting to contribute to this kaupapa. |
pg |
| 29 May |
Completed interfacing a mini spy camera as a research tool to better monitor pest behaviours, pest lure performance and activity in the tube. |
pg |
| 1 May |
Prototyped mechanical design for MkII unit. More work being done to find smarter ways of dispensing / applying toxins which may alter the design a little. |
pg |
| June |
Feild trials with Glenn Baker at Te Mahurehure Marae Westmere highlighted the exacting weather sealing needs for damp forest conditions and hydroscopic nature of the Ferrofeed pellets |
pg/ |
| Aug |
The community roots are not yet around this, so has been left on hold for a while |
pg |
| Sep |
New PIC processors released that widen the scope and opportunitie for this project but at no extra cost. This to be incorporated in MKII unit early in 2011 |
pg |
| Oct |
This project put onto the back burner as the required skills have not yet been germinated |
pg |
| 2011 |
Project Started at the Kura on rainforest ecosysytem services value which involves students designing and building special research instrumentation and PICAXE programming |
pg/kura
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| Aug 2011 |
Andrew Hornblow ran class Picaxe sessions at our kura - Thanks |
kura |
Nov 2011
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Both our classes were awarded 3rd place for their age group in the Brightspark awards |
kura |
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