Locals wage war on weeds

Cut it out... Tabitha Becroft (left) and Hilary Miller deal to moth plant at Barrys Point Reserve. Its seed pods are shown below. Alligator weed at Lake Pupuke, shown fowering by the water (above, right), is being targeted by Michelle Morrison (opposite page).

A group of volunteers is trying to rid Takapuna of moth plant, a “smotherer” that can kill natives. The Society Totally Against Moth Plants (STAMP) held an information session last month to educate the public about the white-fowering weed. Few people turned up on a summery evening, but Hilary Miller gave a rundown on what to look for – its white fowers and green fruit-like seed pods – and how to tackle the fast-growing vine. “It’s a smotherer and grows over and above the native plants,” Miller said. It is best to pull it out, including its roots, or if it is too big, to cut the stem just above the ground and apply picloram. The vine can be left to dry out and die, but any seed pods must also be removed to prevent spread – they carry 600-800 seeds each, Miller said. The plant’s sap can cause a rash, so gloves and long sleeves are recommended. It is a myth that the plant is good for the caterpillars of monarch butterfies, Miller says. She had never seen them on it, but she has seen an adult monarch stuck in its sap. Tabitha Becroft from environmental group Pupuke Birdsong said the plant is a problem across Auckland.

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Stamp it out... Michelle Morrison worries alligator weed is spreading onto natives and under the grass

Teeth needed to tackle this alligator

Alligator weed (pictured) spreading around Lake Pupuke is worrying determined reserve guardian Michelle Morrison

The volunteer co-ordinator of the Friends of Henderson Park has been fnding increasing amounts. She wants more public awareness of its creep and for Auckland Council to do more to eradicate it, especially around the lake edge.

“I think residents around the whole lake should know about the risk,” she says.

Morrison has spotted alligator weed between Henderson Park and Sylvan Park and she suspects it is more widespread. She worries about it at the water edge, where it might be picked up on water craft and carried across the lake.

The weed is currently in fower. It spreads easily and once established has long fbrous roots, making it diffcult to get rid of.

Morrison says she was surprised it was not on a pest plant list the council provides volunteers who work in its reserves. Pupuke Birdsong Project co-ordinator Tabitha Becroft frst alerted her to its incursion and is encouraging the environmental group’s volunteers to look out for it in conjunction with council staff.

But Morrison says it is frustrating trying to get action. Although the council’s local park ranger had arranged for lake-side spraying last September, a contractor had not got all the weed, says Morrison. In another job she reported, just one end of the stretch of weed had been attended to.

Until they became aware of the alligator weed problem, volunteers themselves may have been unknowingly transporting it on tools and gadgets they bring along to help in their wider weed clean-up efforts. Morrison even found it outside her garden shed at home. “We feel a bit miffed that’s a risk we weren’t told of and we were put at risk.”

Volunteers could remove the weed from parks and on the lake strip back from the water-edge, but were hindered by council safety rules requiring the actual lake edge to be tended by the council or its contractors.

West from Henderson Park, Morrison pointed out a large clump of alligator weed in a fax bush by the lakeside. It was also spreading under the grass.

While keeping on the council’s case, she hopes locals will become more aware of the weed and do their bit to keep it in check.

Some residents who mowed or got contractors to mow the lawn between their properties and the lakeside “because the council was not so good at it” might be spreading the weed with their grass clippings without realising it, she said.

Morrison was also aware of a case of a developer having shifted dirt from the bottom of a Hurstmere Rd lake-edge property up to the top of Henderson Park, where the weed spread.

With housing intensifcation she says the importance of local reserves as places where people can walk and recharge will become more important – as will looking after them.

Boards want enforcement beefed up

Three local boards fed up with lack of enforcement of council rules around issues such as parking and illegal camping are calling for urgent action and a review before Easter.

Campers caused problems over the summer long weekends with particular issues at Castor Bay and Narrow Neck. Only a skeleton crew of Auckland Council staff was on hand to manage compliance, despite numerous complaints.

But the lack of bylaw punishments was a much bigger issue, Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Ruth Jackson said. “That’s a good example of bylaws that we’re just lacking enough staff and enough legal teeth to enforce.”

The local board, together with the Hibiscus Coast and Kaipatiki boards, wants compliance teams to be urgently provided greater resources, updated training for call-centre staff, and for council chief executive Jim Stabback to order an enforcement review before Easter.

Options could include hiring more compliance staff, routinely contracting out work during peak times, warranting more staff to enforce rules and addressing council turf wars with Auckland Transport (AT).

One of the more common complaints board members get relate to lack of enforcement when someone reports a problem, Jackson said.

“We are receiving ever-increasing feedback that residents who have taken time to do this have been disappointed, frustrated, or even outright angry that no council staff are available to attend, that response timeframes are too long, and that the issues they have reported – sometimes on multiple occasions over extended time periods – do not get resolved.”

The frustration became more pronounced over long-standing issues – noise, dog control, fy tipping and illegal car parking. “Frustrated residents ask us, ‘What’s the point in having bylaws if they’re not enforced?’”

The enforcement campaign was not a criticism of council staff, Jackson emphasised. It was a matter of giving understaffed and overwhelmed teams extra resources. The pressure of the workload had become an identifed wellbeing issue for the staff.

Forrest Hill gardeners get to dig in at last

Volunteers will converge on Seine Reserve this weekend as the Forrest Hill Community Garden takes shape. It’s been around three years in the planning, including gaining Auckland Council permission, navigating Covid lockdowns and preparing the site, but volunteer coordinator and local resident Phoebe Atkinson says: “The time has fnally come to pitch in and get our hands dirty!” Residents are invited with, gumboots and a spade, to the inaugural working bee on Sunday, 20 February at 2pm, Soil donated from a local building site will be spread to level a rear section of the reserve ready for planting. Neighbours helped prepare the site for soil delivery last Sunday. Vaccine passes will need to be shown this weekend. Those attending are asked to email Atkinson to gauge numbers at communitygardenforresthill@gmail.com