Whāingaroa Weedbusters
On a Saturday morning if you take a walk along Kaitoke Walkway you might hear chatter, laughter, sometimes a little huffing and puffing and the occasional “gotcha ya bastard”, or words to that effect.
The Natural Environment within the Whaingaroa area is diverse and comprises many types of natural habitat encompassing our unique rugged coastline and a range of land types with underlying rocks including limestone, volcanic and mudstones. The land varies from very steep and unstable to gentle fertile river valleys. The forest covered Mt Karioi is the largest formally protected area in the catchment. Extensive predator control is currently being carried out on the maunga and surrounding land my the Karioi Maunga ke te Moana project. The Harbour – The Whaingaroa harbour catchment covers 525 km2 and the harbour covers 35 km2 and has 220 km of coastline. It runs 12 km inland from the entrance, for the most part is less than 2 km wide. Many small streams draining the steep catchment join to form larger rivers such as the Waingaro, Kerikeri, Waitetuna, Wainui and others. These feed into the many arms of the Whaingaroa harbour. Raiparian fencing and planting by landowners and Whaingaroa Harbour care over the past 20 years has improved the water quality within the harbour. Jasmine and daughter Stella share their journey and what resilience and community mean to them. As the new year kicks off, the Karioi Project team are relieved to have made it through another busy ōi season, getting six new ōi chicks to the stage where they can safely leave their burrows and fly seaward as adult birds. Karioi, cloaked in native forest and rising dramatically along our rugged west coast, is more than just an iconic feature of the Whaingaroa landscape. Protection and enhancement of our natural areas and wildlife (land and sea). All plants, animals, fish and shellfish are managed to protect the resource for future generations to enjoy their use at the same levels as today, and if possible restore stocks to better levels. Community and individual ownership of environmental problems. Environmentally conscious development. No pollution (land and sea). Climate change action. Continue to be a national and global leader on environmental issues. Plant more native plants and set traps for pests to help our native animals. Manage weeds without spraying. Fruit trees in all parks and reserves.
Natural Environment / Taiao
Projects
Learn
Get Involved
Stories
Building Community Resilience – Sharing Local Stories
A new generation of ōi chicks take flight
Scientist unveils the volcanic history of Karioi
What we have
Common themes in our community:
Protect flora & fauna
Pest control
Community gardens & food forest
Remove litter from beaches & other public places
Tree planting
Control of weeds
No spray
Environmental education
Aspirations
Possible pathways toward achieving these aspirations