Thank You, Huawai Bay Volunteers!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at the Huawai Bay Restoration Project working bee. It was fantastic to see more than 60 members of our community and whānau come together to help restore this special area.

Together, volunteers achieved an incredible amount in just one day. A large volume of invasive vegetation was cleared, chipped, and mulched, and approximately 1,300 native plants were planted across the site.

This working bee was an important milestone in the wider Huawai Bay / 35 Jamieson Road reforestation project. Thanks to the combined efforts of contractors, volunteers, community members, and whānau, around 90% of the invasive weed and unwanted tree removal has now been completed. More than three tonnes of ginger bulbs and almost four tonnes of other invasive weeds have been removed, helping to create the space needed for native plants to thrive.

A special thank you goes to our project leaders, Hugh and Pete, whose planning, coordination, and hard work has made this project such a success. Their dedication, along with the enthusiasm of everyone involved, has been instrumental in driving this project forward.

Since this planting day, the project has reached another exciting milestone. From mid-July all 5,155 native plants will be planted—a fantastic achievement made possible by the collective efforts of everyone involved.

There is still more work to do, with a weeding and firewood/pine cone clean up community working bee planned once the logging has been completed. We look forward to seeing another great turnout as we continue restoring Huawai Bay together.

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who has contributed their time, energy, and support. Your efforts are making a lasting difference for our local environment and future generations.