Projects

The Enviro Education programme was developed by Gecko Trust to empower school aged students with knowledge about how nature works through fun and engaging learning. In the programme, students will learn about biodiversity, ecosystems, environmental restoration (e.g. tree planting) and ongoing maintenance of the environment. Gecko worked in collaboration with Auckland Council’s Enviroschools team to administer Enviro Education.  

We have implemented the Enviro Education programme at Cockle Bay School and Mission Heights Junior College. Students participated in ecological restoration by planting native trees in their local reserves. Students were also taught how to use maths and design to plan a tree planting on a site map. The younger students at Cockle Bay School learnt about ecological systems through interactive play. Actively involving students in their learning was extremely effective, resulting in positive feedback from students and teachers.

The programme enables students to enhance reserves, give back to their community and build practical skills. Ongoing involvement with the schools is maintained, which includes additional education and upkeep of the trees planted. If your school is interested in finding out more about the Enviro Education programme, contact us.

Do you want to start up a community group with an environmental focus, but don’t know where to start?

Connect with Gecko Trust to find out how we can help geckonztrust@gmail.com

 

Supported by Howick Local Board, Auckland Council and Friends of Mangemangeroa

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

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

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