Coastcare champions 2024

How long have you been volunteering and what motivated you to get involved?

This is my sixth year. I initially got involved to do trapping, but once I was part of the group I liked the use of soft options to help with erosion control and the role spinifex and pīngao play in this.

What exactly do you do and how much of your time and effort does it take?

I spray and weed-eat around the back dunes, plant the fore and backdune areas, help coordinate the planting areas and dune management; pick up rubbish off the coastal beach and the river beach. I do in excess of 75 hours per year.

What have been the biggest wins for you?

Seeing the growth of all the plants, especially the native grasses which are protecting the entire coastal side of the town.

What are the biggest challenges that come with the job?

Getting more volunteers and the negative feedback from the community on the strategies (soft options) we are using to protect the town – they want a wall to combat erosion. The issue of coastal erosion and what to do about it is quite a divisive subject.

Also, all the tarmac and other rubbish that’s falling onto the beach because of the coastal erosion.

However, having a Port Waikato coordinator who works closely with Coastcare and partner agencies DOC and WRC means we get good access to information and advice.

How long have you been volunteering and what motivated you to get involved?

I have been volunteering at Onemana Beach since 2018. The local Dotterel Watch team needed some additional assistance from time to time and I was happy to help. After that I became involved in Onemana Predator Free and Onemana Coastcare.

What exactly do you do and how much of your time and effort does it take?

I organise teams of local volunteers to carry out the work of Predator Free (pest free) and planting and weeding in the Onemana dunes. On average I would most likely spend 12-15 hours per week on volunteering activities.

What have been the biggest wins for you?

Last year, the volunteers’ combined efforts resulted in a record number of fledged native birds for Onemana Beach. The Onemana dunes are healthy and regularly supplemented with new plants. The success of the Predator Free team is greatly assisting the success of the dotterel breeding.

What are the biggest challenges that come with the job?

We have a very small permanent community so getting local volunteers can be a challenge.

What is your sales pitch to encourage others to get involved in Coastcare?

Get involved and help shape the community you want to live in.

How long have you been volunteering and what motivated you to get involved?

We came to live in Cooks Beach in 2002. Around that time, there was a reserves group under the late Toby Morcom which was active in planting projects around our area. As potential fresh recruits we were very quickly (and willingly) pressed into action.

What exactly do you do and how much of your time and effort does it take?

While increasing age has taken me off the frontline, earlier activities fell into two categories.

Firstly, the weekly workdays of the Cooks Beachcare Group for about two hours each week under the dedicated commitment of Adele Small. The group has been involved for some 14 years in maintaining and enhancing our dunes.

Secondly, my own personal commitment which over several years involved potting seedlings sourced locally and growing these to the point where they could be planted out. This included a nursery patch of totara seedlings I found just inside the gate of Shakespeare Reserve and which are now scattered and thriving in various areas on the reserve. Seed collection was also a great interest: ake ake, which separate quite easily using an old aluminium colander with the appropriate size of holes for the seeds to drop through, and the endangered pimelia, the seeds of which went to the wonderful nursery of Jo Bonner at Whakatane. In my best year I sent around 1000 seeds – several hours’ worth of finding these tiny ball-bearing-like seeds.

What have been the biggest wins for you?

I have sheer joy seeing the restored dunes, considering what they looked like when we first started. They reflect the work and dedication of so many like-minded people. In this regard, our biggest regret is that we did not establish photo points to capture the progression and development over time.

It was a very proud moment when at the Coastal Restoration Trust conference in 2019, the work and commitment of our group was recognised with the award for the best restoration project of the year. This was a wonderful recognition not only of our work but also of the support we had received from TCDC staff, Waikato Regional Council (plants and T-shirts!) and our own community

What are the biggest challenges that come with the job?

First and foremost, you can’t stop! In our dunes, we will still find pest plants occurring in areas where there has not been an active seed source for many years. It is a constant and ongoing battle. If not maintained, those pests will beat you. Secondly, as with so many groups, there is much grey hair and it is a challenge to get younger people involved. I think we have not utilised the pulling power of social media like Facebook as much as we should have.  

What is your sales pitch to encourage others to get involved in Coastcare? 

If you have any interest in the environment, then this is a wonderful outlet for that interest. In terms of time allocation, think yes, I can give some time to this activity, even if it is only an hour a week.

If joining a group does not suit you for time or whatever reason, consider talking to your local organiser and see whether you could be allocated an area which would be your patch to be worked in at your own time. Find out what needs to be done before you charge off! It is great that today there are active groups in most of our coastal communities and they all welcome new energy. If you need inspiration, visit the website of the Coastal Restoration Trust.