Gecko NZ Trust

Living Neighbourhoods

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Ella shnapp

Beyond the Fence

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Beyond the Fence (BTF) started with one individual with the desire to encourage their community to look beyond the fence of their own backyards. Now, with the help of Gecko Trust, over 1250 properties in the Birkenhead and Northcote area are involved! Gecko has worked with BTF to raise awareness surrounding the need for weed and pest control on private land, as at least half of the neighbourhood’s biodiversity is on private land. BTF also has a strong focus on preserving the natural biodiversity of their local, urban reserve – Le Roys Bush.

Gecko has assisted BTF in achieving their goals by helping them organise educational walks, as well as managing pest animals and plants. The group has a strong social focus, which BTF founder, Linda, says has benefited from Gecko’s involvement, and created a ‘vibrant community spirit.’ By engaging both private landowners and the wider community, Gecko has ‘enhanced what BTF is able to do,’ resulting in more effective control of pests.

Some examples of Gecko’s work with Beyond the Fence include a popular ‘Wine & Weeds’ event, which is a celebration of community cooperation and an opportunity to learn about weed identification and control. Beyond the Fence also runs a regular rat programme, in conjunction with Friends of Le Roys Bush, which controls rats on private properties surrounding the reserve. The program is a method of effectively controlling rats through regular management.

Check out the Beyond the Fence Facebook page here to stay updated with their latest events.

Do you want to start up a community group similar to this, but don’t know where to start? Connect with Gecko Trust to find out how we can help geckonztrust@gmail.com

 

Supported by an Auckland Council Regional Environment and Natural Heritage Grant

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Whenuapai Restoration Group

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Whenuapai Restoration Group (WRA) formed in 2016 with the intention of getting rid of invasive weeds from local coastal reserves and planting native plants remedially. The group is also part of the Upper Harbour Ecology Network.

WRA have held weeding bees in the communities popular Waimarie Beach Reserve to protect trees such as pōhutukawa. Gecko Trust has developed a thorough community wide predator control programme specific to Whenuapai, targeting rats and possums. If you are interested in starting up a predator control programme for your community, or want help organising a community weeding bee, contact us.

Members of the group are excited about the possibilities of working together, and are very pleased to have had the support and guidance of a Gecko facilitator in both the technical and social aspects of getting a group off the ground. “Without you I wouldn’t have had the confidence to get the group going, being an absolute beginner,” says group coordinator Paul Herbert who, inspite of personal health challenges, is consciously making positive life choices. Their working bees also have a strong social focus for neighbours who enjoying connecting over a mutual love of their local environments, and after work ‘Wine and Weeds’ sessions are particularly popular.

If you’d like to support them in their efforts contact their group coordinator Paul Herbert paulh0411@gmail.com or stay updated with the group here.

 

With support and funding from Upper Harbour Local Board and the Upper Harbour Ecology Network

Waipa Street Bush Restoration Group

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Waipa Street Bush Restoration Group is a Kaipātiki local board initiative which aims to engage neighbours to restore the 7500sqm bush gully off Waipa Street. This ecological corridor will contribute to the overarching vision for the North-West Wildlink. The group has been a Gecko Living Neighbourhood since early 2016, enabling them to enforce a weeding and predator control programme in the Waipa Street Bush, with goals to eventually become a weed and pest free neighbourhood. They are also hoping to link with other groups active in the area (such as the Verran Eskdale Restoration group) to help each other restore the network of bush areas.

Gecko has assisting the group in community networking and also facilitates working bees each month. These working bees allow the group to meet neighbours, socialise, explore the bush and admire local animals such as; fantail, lizards, tui, wood pigeon and wax eye. The group also sends out regular newsletters to motivate, educate, track success and continue to engage the wider community. A major focus has been on eradicating wild ginger, moth plant and mignonette vine, as well as trapping possums and rats. If you want to engage your neighbours in a similar way or want to restore and enhance your local reserve, contact Gecko.

If you live near Waipa Street and are interested in assisting their efforts, please email jo.utting@nzsafetyblackwoods.co.nz

 

Supported by Kaipātiki Local Board

Pare-dise Project

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Gecko Trust is currently working with Sustainable Paremoremo to support them with their “Pare-dise” project. The project area lies in the critical central part of the North-West Wildlink , the so-called Albany Heights Biodiversity Hub that includes the Lucas Creek West Escarpment Wildlink Wonder and the Paremoremo Scenic Reserve Wildlink Wonder.

These Wildlink Wonders provide habitat for a significant number of at risk or threatened species. The Para-dise Project’s long-term vision is to enhance the natural ecosystems in Paremoremo by planting and restoring food sources and habitat for native wildlife (including birds, reptiles and insects) and in doing so make Paremoremo a better place to live, while at the same time enhancing the North-West Wildlink.

With support and funding from Upper Harbour Local Board and the Upper Harbour Ecology Network

Blackbridge & Horseshoe Bush Road Community Groups

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In Rodney district two neighbouring areas, Blackbridge Rd and Horseshoe Bush Rd, are working hard to improve their local environment.

The Blackbridge group in the south (comprising of residents linked with BEPS – Blackbridge Environmental Protection Society) represents an empowered community aiming to protect, restore and sustain a healthy environment at Auckland’s rural urban boundary. Their vision is for the Rangitopuni Stream and the Blackbridge area to be safe-guarded and enhanced for future generations.

Horsehoe Bush in the north sits well within the landscape to connect to the North-West Wildlink corridor running to the east. Neighbours there have been active for many years, working to improve the environmental health of private properties by fencing off bush and scrub areas, removing environmental weeds and animal pests. They formed a group called the ‘Horseshoe Busdh Wildlife Habitat Group’ and have received good support from Council and nearby Waste Management. As weed and pest challenges remained, Gecko has been invited to partner with this area to help their neighbourhood engagement be more effective.

 The Blackbridge group took part in the Trees that Count Initiative enhancing their local landscape with planting for biodiversity. Following a short planting workshop, they held a community planting event near the Rangitopuni stream and planted a number of native plants including mahoe, red matipo and mānuka. This wonderful planting is primarily in the south east where the major North-West Wildlink connections are, up to Whangaparaoa, and south west to Paremoremo, Riverhead and the Waitākere Ranges.

Throughout their community, plantings have occurred to build on and expand areas of existing native bush, as well as enhance and strengthen ecosystem structures such as bush edges already present. Through Trees that Count, Project Crimson helped set up ‘community-minded’ monitoring plots to track the success of the planting and provide useful feedback in the future.

 The community has great plans for their future – they’d like to run neighbourhood bush identification and exploration walks and talks, host a ‘wine, cheese & weeds’ event, establish a predator control collective, and increase engagement with other neighbours about environmental weeds and more planting.

The Horseshoe Bush Rd group is at the beginning of this journey, with a primary focus on engaging neighbours to connect.

 Contact stopmanagedfill@gmail.com  to talk about Gecko’s work with this project or visit http://blackbridge.weebly.com

With support from Rodney Local Board, Trees that Count and Project Crimson

Stillwater Reserve Restoration Group

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A Stillwater resident was seeking help to establish a community group to start growing native plants when a serendipitous conversation with a Gecko facilitator led to a mentoring partnership with Gecko.

The Stillwater Reserve Restoration Group was established in anticipation of the gifting of 6.7 ha of reserve land along the Okura walkway, next to the proud new Stillwater Community Hall. The highly accessible reserve land’s significance was not lost on certain farsighted committee members of the Stillwater Residents and Ratepayers’ Association (SRRA), who could see that that the beauty, archeological features and ecological integrity of the area could and should be protected and enhanced by weed control and native planting. Establishing a community nursery with a two year lead-in would mean that native plants could be ready for planting when the land is ceded in 2018.

Gecko’s mandate – to assist and guide groups to realise their own goals to enhance the environment ­– was a good fit with this group and partnership with Gecko has been important to assist with strategic planning for the project’s long-term goals.

Since March 2016 a Gecko facilitator has been providing strategic and technical advice, attending meetings, holding nursery workshops (on topics such as seed collecting and sowing, cuttings and pricking out seedlings) and building relationships with locals. The development of a weed strategy and native plant identification on the new reserve land has begun. Seedlings are currently being grown in a temporary nursery area housed on a member’s private land. Supported by a grant from the SRRA, plans for a more permanent structure have been drawn up under the guidance of Gecko’s facilitator.

In winter 2016 planting events organised by locals working on existing coastal reserve land near the new area were supported with native trees supplied through Gecko’s collaboration with Trees That Count.

A proposal is also in progress for a pay-it-forward community weeding group to work on private properties and road frontages in 2017. Significantly reducing invasive weed seed sources and raising awareness about protecting local treasures is their goal. The SSRG is hoping to engage motivated and environmentally-minded local youth as leaders.  Some members of the community have already started clearing invasive weeds along the main road into Stillwater sending a clear message to the whole community.

“The helpful and important attributes which our facilitator from Gecko offered to us as volunteers have been enthusiasm and passion, within a framework of gentle encouragement. Her experience and knowledge has given us confidence to believe it can be done…We are all grateful for the assistance, support and confidence building we have received.”

Mary Gallagher, Stillwater Reserve Restoration Group

Contact: admin@stillwater.org.nz if you’re keen to get involved.

With support from Auckland Council and Trees that Count

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Herald Island Environmental Group

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Herald Island Environmental Group (HIEG), previously known as Keep Herald Island Beautiful, has been working mostly on public land since 1995 to control environmental plant pests and replace them with local native plants.

In 2016 their work extended to include the control of animal pests, starting with rats. One of their aims is to enhance the Herald Island section of the North-West Wildlink, making Herald Island a safe stopping off point for birds traversing this corridor through the Upper Waitemāta Harbour. Gecko began working with HIEG in winter 2016 to help them develop a ‘whole of community’ approach by extending their work to private land also.

In addition to a long history of organising community weeding and planting bees, they look forward to soon being able to engage residents on private land in animal/plant pest control and revegetation, and offering residents the use of rat traps and pesticides.

After years of only using native plants grown on the island or in nearby areas (such as Kaipātiki Trust’s nursery at Hobsonville Point) they now have a small second hand glasshouse that they are refurbishing as a shadehouse to enable the sustainable and cost effective provision of natives. The community nursery also serves as a means to engage a wider pool of people and highlight the resource they aim to protect. Locally sourced and grown native plants from the community nursery will be available for revegetation in the next two years.

For more details about our relationship see:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-harbour-news/84048896/herald-island-environmental-group-links-up-with-trust

Contact Jan Diprose if you’d like to get involved: jjdiprose@clear.net.nz

With support and funding from Upper Harbour Local Board and the Upper Harbour Ecology Network

 

Titirangi Village Clean Up

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This project is a true community collaboration to beautify and restore the heart of Titirangi Village. Key sites around the village are being revamped with targeted rubbish and weed removal, plant restoration and a beautification programme. So far the local board and some local businesses have been involved with restoration. All village businesses have been invited to get involved, as well as the general public to join in working bees and an educational, fun event in early 2017.

The idea for all this came from a local sick of seeing invasive wild ginger spreading into other areas of Titirangi – an eyesore for a village that is so beautiful. The ginger had been there for over 30 years! Waitākere Ranges Local Board provided an injection of funding to get the project off the ground, so visible results could encourage others to get involved. Since then, a number of invasive sites have been controlled for weeds, and the major site by the SuperValue planted with beautiful, biodiversity-supporting natives including native grasses, hebe, mountain flax and kōwhai.

The next steps will be to continue to engage village businesses for collaboration and support, and run short educational working bees in the village, the up-coming community event, and easy ongoing care for the land behind businesses.

Contact Gecko NZ Trust if you’d like to be involved.

With support from Waitākere Ranges Local Board

WRB

South Titirangi Neighbourhood Network

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South Titirangi Neighbourhood Network (or STNN) is a group of neighbours who aim to reverse ecological decline across the South Titirangi peninsula by controlling pests and weeds. STNN is a thriving community group, with two thirds of the total South Titirangi community engaged. The group also has a strong focus on better stream management and preventing Kauri dieback. STNN are well on their way to achieving their goals of becoming animal pest free by 2022 and free of Waitakere worst weeds by 2028, with support from Auckland Council and Gecko Trust.  

Gecko Trust’s collaboration with the group started in 2015 as part of our Living Neighbourhoods initiative. We have grown the STN network by engaging the community with social, fun events and meetups. Events range from pest control and workshops with ecologists to street parties at a local park (which STNN is restoring). Find out more about the groups upcoming events by following their Facebook. 

Gecko has enabled STNN to partner with Auckland Council to create a Peninsula wide weed strategy, gain expert advice from our facilitators and access free resources to support their work.

Do you want to start up a community group like South Titirangi Neighbourhood Network in your community?

Contact Gecko Trust to find out more geckonztrust@gmail.com. 

 

This work has been supported by Lotteries

Grants Board

Domain Crescent Neighbourhood Group

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Established in 2015, the Domain Crescent Neighbourhood Group began with two successful but very different projects. The first involved replanting a walkway in the street following weed eradication. Ladder fern and ginger were replaced with a good selection of coastal natives that are now well established and healthy. The second project turned two old surfboards (why not when you live at a surf mecca?!) into street signs asking drivers to slow down for free-range kids.

The DC Crew (as they are now known) have now turned their attention to becoming pest free. This is in its early stages, but with the many stories of rats in the street there is a core group of people keen to see it happen, both to keeps rats from their homes and to see birds increase in number. As well as the gannet colony Muriwai is famous for, there are penguins and petrels nesting along the coast and plenty of bush birds, so there is a good wildlife base to grow from.

The group have set up a Facebook page called DC Crew Muriwai where they share info and invite newcomers. Over the next year the group is aiming to increase participation in both social and environmental events, and see more activity on their Facebook page. Feel free to join their group if you would like to take part.

Thanks to Rodney Local Board for their support

Domain Crescent