A war against pests is taking place throughout many backyards in the Bay of Plenty.

Predator Free Bay of Plenty is looking for more people keen to join in on the fight, to bring native birds back to our neighbourhoods.

Predator Free Bay of Plenty is a community led, backyard trapping programme that aims to get a trap in every fifth backyard to rid our neighbourhoods of rats and mice.

'One rat can kill up to 50 native birds, so the more people we have trapping in their backyards, the more native birds we will see,” says Predator Free BOP Coordinator Emma Woods.

The initiative was inspired by the work of Kelvin Hastie whose crusade saw his Crofton Downs neighbourhood in Wellington become New Zealand's first predator free suburb in 2015.

The goal is to achieve the same thing in the Bay of Plenty.

Launched by Envirohub Bay of Plenty, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, and the Bay Conservation Alliance, Predator Free BOP started in Matua and with public interest, has expanded to Merivale, Te Puke, Maketu, Little Waihi, Paengaroa and Pukehina.

'The interest has been amazing but we are keen to keep growing and go region wide. As proven in Wellington, if we can get a trap in every fifth house, we'll give our native birds a fighting chance,” says Emma.

To help get more people enlisted, Predator Free BOP are holding free workshops for people to learn about backyard trapping and becoming community leaders.

'At the workshop you'll learn what's involved in backyard trapping, get a feel for what's involved in being a community leader and what support is available for you.

'There will also be a chance to ask questions and you will walk away with your own trap so you can get trapping.”

The workshop is being held at the Historic Village on Tuesday November 27, from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.

For more information for to RSVP for the workshops, email [email protected].