Support for Herald Island environment
An environmental group that’s been going for over 20 years has found a mentor and a glasshouse to help them continue their efforts. The Herald Island Environmental Group (HIEG) has linked up with Gecko NZ Trust to assist with their ongoing work removing weeds, planting natives, and doing pest control.
The Gecko Trust uses a ‘buddy’ type system to help neighbourhood groups to become more selfsustaining and cultivate greater community involvement. Trust community conservation facilitator Andrea Hunt says they want to try to engage as many people as possible on the island.
‘‘Even if they don’t come along to work on the reserves, they can still be working towards a collective vision in their own backyard, and applying the same principles of bio-diversity and controlling invasive weeds on their own patch,’’ she says.
The HIEG has around 20 residents who regularly help out with planting, weeding and trapping pests. They try to make their way around the island mostly on council reserves - and are now working on the largest park, Herald Island domain.
HIEG co-chair and coordinator Jan Diprose says native plantings have been going ‘‘in earnest’’ for the past three years.
‘‘We realised that there’s not much point removing weeds unless you replace them with vegetation, otherwise the weeds just come back,’’ she says.
The group tries use only natives which have been grown on the island or in nearby areas, such as Kaipaitiki Trust’s nursery at Hobsonville Point. An old glasshouse - which was sourced by one of the group’s members will now be used as a shade house to grow native seedlings on the island. HIEG also aims to try to replace the island’s bird life, as Herald Island forms part of the North-West Wildlink, a ‘‘green corridor’’ and safe passage from the Waitakere ranges to the Hauraki Gulf islands for native plants and animals.
Hunt says environmental restoration is just one of the benefits of working together in a community group.
‘‘There’s an intrinsic wellbeing in being in a natural space.’’
Weather permitting, Herald Island ‘War on weeds’ clean up is on October 15 from 9.30am-12pm.