There is a war going on, it’s been going on for years. This war is quiet and insidious. It’s the war between our native plant species and the introduced plants that are invading our Coast.
The Tutukaka Coast includes a wide array of plant habitats – these habitats host a diverse range of native plant species which are connected with all life privileged enough to live within its reaches.
These invaders are plant ‘pests’. Pests, because they threaten our native plant species and their habitats. These plant pests are thriving in our warm climate and rich soils, they are out-competing our native species by maturing quickly and spreading readily.
These plant pests have, in some cases, been normalised through their presence along roadsides, in our recreation areas and public conservation land; and consequently in our communities.
So how do we identify and prioritise weeds when there are so many?
A group of volunteers have been surveying the weeds (the plant pests) in our area and in over 1000 observations we have found over 149 species of plant pests (so far!). We have used this information along with input from community experts to classify the plant pests into categories which we will prioritise. These are:
- The Dirty Dozen : 12 plants that are already making a significant impact on our native plants and places within the Tutukaka Coast area and are our first to target.
- The Naughty Forty: 40 odd plants that are here on the coast which we will be keeping an eye on and controlling in our special places.
Every plant has its place, we need your help so our plants keep their place!
Introducing the Specialist Weed Assistance Team – S.W.A.T. Tutukaka
The Tutukaka Landcare Coalition along with other interested parties from the community have formed an operational group focused on plant pests. This operational group is known as S.W.A.T. Tutukaka, thats the “Specialist Weed Assistance Team”. The team is made up of volunteers from within the community who are already waging war on weeds and a project lead to coordinate activities.
Community Weed Control Kit – available for Coasties to use.
Need some advice or help with the right tools or herbicide to control the weeds at your place? We’ve got you covered with everything you need to get the job done!
Our community weed control kit is available for your community group or residents in Tutukaka (for us that’s Sandy Bay back through to Kiripaka along the Coast/River and Waipoka Rd, Old Kaiatea Rd, Kaiatea Rd is the inland boundary….. everything in between).
Loaning the kit works just like a library where you sign them out and back in again. You can loan the whole kit for a group or just some components.
Find out more about the weed control kits here.
We need your help!
We can’t do it alone – we need the entire community to come together to help. Our community consists of a lot of great people already looking after their patch or ‘a patch’. However, there are a lot of people that need help and a lot of places, like our public spaces, that still need more people to help with pest plants.
It doesn’t matter if your a weed (thats plant pests!) spotter or a weed slayer..there’s a job for everyone so get in touch today and tell us how you can help…phone or text Anna on 022 649 8730 or email s.w.a.tutukaka@gmail.com
Join Tutukaka Land Care