‘Great, green way’ to mark St Paddy’s Day

Some of the 20 volunteers who turned out on Sunday to clear weeds and litter from native plants at Alfred Cox Skate Park next to the Waikanae Stream.Picture supplied

Twenty volunteers spent a sunny Saint Patrick’s Day clearing weeds and litter from native plants at Alfred Cox Skate Park next to the Waikanae Stream on Sunday.

Organising team member Jason Akuhata-Brown said that in two hours the team filled a large trailer with weeds and collected one large bag of rubbish.

Most of the litter was food wrappers caught in the plantings, rather than blowing into the stream.

“We got a surprising amount of work done, especially since it has been such a good growing season and a long time since we’ve been able to do a thorough weed of the area,” Jason said.

“2023 was a difficult year with so much rain and other issues that meant we couldn’t always follow through on planned work sessions, so it was fantastic to have a good team getting stuck in to the mahi.”

Keen weedeater operators trimmed long grass bordering the native plantings for the full length of the skatepark.

Volunteers working in among the streamside native plants weeded over half of the park’s planted area.

The session finished with a sausage sizzle and a catch-up with old and new members of the work team.

One volunteer commented that after the weeds had been cleared, it looked like the native plants had perked up and it felt like the ngahere was “breathing a sigh of relief”.

“It was great getting back into this mahi after the interruptions of the last year,” Jason said.

“We hope to have regular weeding sessions this year and see the ngahere thrive even more. This was definitely a great, green way to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day.”

The Department of Conservation, Women’s Native Tree Project Trust, Tairāwhiti Environment Centre, Tairāwhiti Adventure Trust, GDC and Judds Ltd contributed to the success of the day, he said.