Stoat encounter opened eyes

Coastal Otago Conservation Award finalist Forest and Bird South Otago branch chairman Roy Johnstone is a retired geothermal engineer who has set up and runs a predator trap network around penguin sites at Owaka Heads and Penguin Bay in South Otago. Helena de Reus investigates how the project works.

What is it about the predator work to protect yellow-eyed penguins that got you interested and continues to interest you?

"I was out at Penguin Bay in the Catlins working in a conservation programme with Cheryl Pullar [Department of Conservation ranger] and other volunteers, and while we were standing there a stoat ran right between us and it was then I realised something needed to be done to protect the wildlife there - especially the yellow-eyed penguins. So, I set up a trap network and check them every three weeks or so."

How does the project benefit conservation?

"With trapping sometimes you get nothing and sometimes you get a few. Trapping predators like stoats, ferrets, rats, possums, and feral cats gives yellow-eyed penguins and other native species a better chance to survive. Penguins and other native wildlife have no protection against these predators."

What do you get out of your work in conservation, how do you fit it in?

"Being out in the hills and in the bush is my passion. We have a beautiful country, especially with the Catlins and we should respect the environment. With the yellow-eyed penguins, they're very scared of people so I try to disturb them as little as possible and move the traps around when I check them."

What challenges do you face and how have you overcome them?

"Getting people involved is always a challenge. The trapping itself is pretty easy, but you've got to keep on side with the landowners."

What would you like to do in the future with conservation?

"The Catlins is a superb place and there's lots and lots of projects to get involved with. I'm looking forward to a long-tailed bat project in the Catlins, and to get stuck in at Long Point - there's no shortage of things to do."

Roy Johnstone lives in the Puerua Valley, near Balclutha.

• Nominated by Doc Owaka-based ranger Cheryl Pullar.