News

Are you passionate about the peninsula and willing to donate two hours of your time on a Saturday morning? 

We are looking for a team of volunteers to man our Resource Centre on a rostered basis. You will be supplying landowners with pest control materials between the hours of 10.00am and noon.  Training will be provided.  

To register you interest please contact Anne on 09 235 1616, email landcare@awhitu.org.nz or drop in Wed-Friday 9.00am – noon.

The Great Annual Matakawau Raft Race was held on Sunday 31 January. The weather, tide, wind and turnout of people made it yet another ‘great’ day to remember. $350 was raised for Awhitu Landcare from race entry fees, donations and a very successful sausage sizzle.

Many thanks to Race Organisers, generous donors and of course sausage eaters for continuing to support Landcare’s efforts!

Congratulations on another successful family fun day out.

Regenerating the Awhitu Peninsula with 250,000 native plants

Awhitu Landcare has been approved for funding from Te Uru Rākau, Forestry New Zealand, as part of the One Billion Trees programme. This means that Awhitu Landcare, in partnership with Ngāti Te Ataand Auckland Council, can propagate and supply 250,000 eco-sourced native plants over the next four years to local landowners and iwi. Support is also available for planting plans, ecologist assessments and project management.

The name of this project is Te Korowai o Papatūānuku which means ‘the cloak of Mother Earth’.

Are you interested in subsidised plants and planting project support?

We are calling for early registrations of interest from landowners who would like assistance with restoration planting on their land in 2021.

Eligibility for subsidised planting:

To be eligible for support, a planting project will need to meet certain criteria. Broadly speaking the subsidy applies to projects that enhance or restore the unique natural and cultural environment on the peninsula. The area to be planted must fit into one of the following categories:

-       Area of ecological significance, eg streams and wetlands or bordering remnant forest

-       Area of cultural significance or heritage 

-       Area of important biodiversity as identified by Auckland Council

-       Area that links biodiverse areas to create corridors for movement of native birds and other species

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please register anyway and we can investigate whether your project fits into the required criteria.

Email landcare@awhitu.org.nz or phone 09 235 1616.

We were delighted to be nominated as a finalist in Collaboration category of the November 2020 Mayoral Conservation Awards. All of the different community projects Landcare is involved in were considered for this award. Despite not taking out the award, this is a great achievement, very much deserved and recognises the commitment and hard work of our Staff, Committee and Volunteer Networks.

Awhitu Landcare has been granted $80,000 from the Department of Conservation to eradicate possums in the northwestern area of the Awhitu Peninsula.  

 The DOC Community Fund/Pūtea Tautiaki Hapori will support Awhitu Landcare’s mission to eradicate pests from the area to protect and nourish the region’s unique biodiversity and taonga species.

 More than 100 grants were provided to community conservation groups throughout the country. Awhitu Landcare is extremely grateful for this support. Find out more about the fund here.