Auckland Council requires movie companies filming on the beach here at Te Henga Bethells Beach to have a dotterel minder present. The filmos generally give us a generous donation for our services which is helpful for our work.

We are very grateful for these donations, and use the movie money for dotterel minding equipment such as signs. We have eye-catching and effective local signs made by Lynx, and commercially made signs by local sign makers Chase Graphics.

We also use the money to buy other essential gear such as ropes, chicken wire, pigtails, cameras, binoculars, paint etc, and material for trapping like peanut butter, cat biscuits, mayonnaise, chocolate paste and other delicacies that attract rats!

We use any extra money for a wide variety of local endeavours.  For example, for several years we have supported a local knitter who makes merino vests for premature babies. We’ve  donated to the Bethells Boardriders (a local group teaching local kids to surf safely). We’ve helped buy radios and high-vis vests for the Te Henga Emergency Resiliency Group, helped finance the beautiful sign kiosk at the beach entranceway informing visitors about special features of our beaches, and also bought materials for seed “bombs” to assist slip revegetation after Cyclone Gabrielle. We paid all the vet fees required to rehome a kitten that was abandoned down at the reserve. A future project is helping finance a public defibrillator at the new BBSLSC gear shed, and giving a donation towards rebuilding the club.