Katikati cemetery: Graves need some TLC in time for Christmas

Val Baker is looking for help to clean up the cemetery. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

Legion of Frontiersmen and Rotary Club of Katikati are putting the call out for volunteers to help clean up the cemetery.

The clean-up has been a yearly effort since 2010. This year, they’re getting a jump on it as it is usually held to beautify the area in the lead up to Anzac Day.

Legion of Frontiersmen officer commanding Val Baker says cleaning up before Christmas ‘’shows how we, the locals, want to look after the many people who no longer have family in the area and often pay a visit over this Christmas break’'.

It will also make for an easier job when the March tidy-up comes around in time for Anzac Day.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council looks after the grassed areas but not the actual family graves. These can become quite untidy, Val says.

‘’We have found another area of agapanthus which we are going to dig out and then council can keep them sprayed. So we mainly need people who have weed-eaters with nylon cord rather than a blade weed-eater and people with knapsacks to spray weed herbicide and for people who will be happy to pick up the weeds cut and maybe pull out in the areas where a weed-eater can’t get.’’

Rotary and the Legion of Frontiersmen had a working bee this month and will be holding another — where they hope for more volunteers — to come along on December 2 at 7.30am. The working bee will take less than a few hours before the day gets too hot.

‘’The clean up is usually well supported by older people, it would be nice to see younger people get involved as well as many hands make light work, as they say.’’

Contact Val on 549 0331 if you can help.