NORTH SHORE ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMMES Restoring Takarunga Hauraki programme coordinator Lance Cablk.
Fiona Martin, environmental coordinator for Pupuke Birdsong project.
Restoring the birdsong Environmental initiatives thrive Restoring Takarunga Hauraki and the Pupuke Birdsong Project are leading the way in ecological care and restoration of the Devonport-Takapuna areas of the North Shore. Supported by the Devonport Takapuna Local Board, Auckland Council and other funders, as well as by numerous volunteers, the two organisations work to eliminate plant and animal pests in the area, and to restore the ecology of the area. Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) was formed in 2018, building on efforts by the Devonport Environmental Network and a Forest and Bird initiative to protect the shorebirds of Ngātaringa Bay, says its programme coordinator Lance Cablk. “Our programme aims to be strongly bicultural – our network of volunteers and professional includes mana whenua and three local marae, other iwi and whanau, and we all aim to learn from tikanga and mātauranga Māori [Māori procedure/ custom and knowledge]. We have pest plant and pest animal control and eradication strategies and teams of volunteers working in reserves. We also promote backyard biodiversity by promoting backyard rat trapping, weed removal, and planting trees, and we promote and support eco-literacy and outdoor learning at our nine local schools and two public kindergartens.” Channel Magazine met with Lance and Gordon Brodie, chair of the RTH steering group, at one of the organisation’s most recent initiatives. They were hard at work on the Takararo Native Plant nursery, which will augment the already thriving native plant nursery at the Devonport Community gardens in Mt Cambria. Three weeks ago this was overgrown with noxious weeds and trees, unrecognisable as either the heritage coal bunker it is, or the plant nursery it is to become. It is now ready to welcome volunteers to plant (and tend) locally collected seeds for eventual planting in local reserves. By adding such projects, Restoring Takarunga Hauraki has grown substantially. Its 2021 work plan portrays a maze of activities and
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Issue 119 - May 2021 www.channelmag.co.nz
interlocking relationships with other local organisations. The four work streams encompass overlapping teams that work towards pest-free Devonport and Bayswater peninsulas, an ecology bike trail and a Fort Takapuna memorial forest, a weed hit squad, a zero stoat team, a possum defence team, biodiversity monitoring teams, water quality teams, a green neighbourhood collaboration, and a climate action group, among many others. In all these activities, Restoring Takarunga Hauraki (RTH) is umbrellaed and supported administratively by Devonport Peninsula Trust and works alongside the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, the Kaipatiki Project, Devonport Recycling Centre and Zero Waste Belmont, various parts of Auckland Council’s biodiversity, environmental education, pest-free and parks teams, local schools, and Depot Artspace as well as other regional partners. It’s little wonder that Lance has recently used a coach to help “integrate and streamline my programme coordination and management roles” and is starting to use on online planning and task-management process. The Pupuke Birdsong Project (originally named the North Shore Birdsong Project but renamed to better reflect the area it covers) is a more recent initiative. Run on a part-time basis by environmental coordinator Fiona Martin, it developed out of a July 2019 pest eradication and environmental restoration plan for Takapuna North, which was completed by representatives from local volunteer groups alongside Takapuna North Community Trust and Auckland Council representatives. The project’s main aim is to coordinate a local pest-free and restoration plan in line with the goals of Pest Free Auckland 2050. Like Restoring Takarunga Hauraki, it is supported by the DevonportTakapuna Local Board, as well as by Auckland Council. At present, its main activities are encouraging households to use pest eradication techniques such as traps on their property, providing advice on the eradication of invasive plants and facilitating a quarterly Takapuna North Environmental Network Meeting, an informal gathering with
