In Wellington, the rat trappers are winning — and native species are coming back

Wellington is trying to become the world's first predator-free capital city, and its birds are noticing. Predator Free Wellington, a nearly decade-long project to remove the rats and other introduced predators that prey on New Zealand's unique native wildlife, has trained its field teams to an art — 'We're like dogs. You just send us in an area, and we're like, where's the best rat spot?' laughs field operator Sam Morris, who has worked the project for five years. As trapping has sharpened, native species are rebounding in a city now counted among the few in the world where biodiversity is increasing rather than falling.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: community action