Want to make a difference to the Raglan environment?

Environment Waikato, Waikato District Council and the Department of Conservation are hosting a Weedbusting day at Kaitoke St walkway this Saturday (8 July).

Weedbusters is a nationwide awareness programme led by the Department of Conservation that encourages New Zealanders to take action against weeds and pest plants.

So grab your secateurs, spade or gardening fork, head down to the corner of Kaitoke St and Tutchen Ave at 9.30am and get stuck into weeds that are competing with native plants.

“Weedbusting with a group of people is a fun way of tackling necessary work,” said Environment Waikato Weedbusters coordinator Wendy Mead.

“It’s a great opportunity to get outside for some healthy exercise, meet some like-minded people, and help native plants to grow and flourish.”

Weedbusting experts from Environment Waikato, Waikato District Council and the Department of Conservation will be there getting their hands dirty and will gladly help with any ‘weedy’ questions.

“Weeds are one of the biggest threats to New Zealand’s biodiversity,” Wendy said.

“In New Zealand we have about 2000 introduced plant species that have gone wild – which is about the same number of native plant species we have. There are about 300 species of environmental weeds in New Zealand and this number is expected to increase at a rate of 2-4 a year.

“Raglan is a very environmentally-minded community, so we hope to see lots of people this Saturday morning.”

Refreshments for volunteers will be provided. Please call Wendy Mead at Environment Waikato on 0800 800 401 or Steve Soanes at Waikato District Council on 825 8129 for more information.