Nau mai, haere mai!
Once more we’re wrapping up another great year for Coastcare, and what better way to celebrate than to share some of our successes and put the spotlight on some of the hard-working volunteers who make it all happen.
This year we’ve seen notable success from our restoration efforts at many of our beaches, and we started some exciting new projects too. None of this would have been possible without the help of our wonderful volunteers. Your mahi really does make a difference, and the Coastcare team sends a huge thank you to everyone who’s helped out.
In total, Coastcare community groups have been working hard at 48 sites on the east and west coasts of the Waikato region this year. That includes 1026 volunteers spending 3168 hours planting 73,000 plants in dunes, clearing more than 390 pest animals from six trapping lines, and loads of weeding and plant maintenance.
With the 2025 planting season wrapped up, work is now underway to plan plantings and weed control for 2026. Want to get involved? Check out Coastcare Waikato on Facebook and Instagram to get the latest info on events in your area, or find a Coastcare group near you on our Coastcare Waikato story map.
But for now, have a good Christmas and New Year, put your feet up, have a well-deserved break, and read some great stories from our Coastcare groups this year.
2025 at a glance
Your stories
Bad flowers
We might take a holiday, but the weeds don’t! The summer flowering season is a great time to identify many weeds and to stop them spreading. Here’s a few pesty plants to look out for in the dunes or in your garden.
Agapanthus: With its distinctive sprays of blue/violet or white flowers, it’s easy to see why agapanthus was once a popular landscaping plant. Unfortunately, all those flowers become seeds, and agapanthus produces so much seed that plants eventually form dense stands that push out all other species. You can help stop agapanthus from spreading by snipping off the flower heads before they form seeds.
Wild gladiolus: Wild gladiolus, another garden escapee, produces many new underground cormils each year, and each one can become a new plant. Over time, it forms dense stands and pushes out native plants. Wild gladiolus is not yet widely established in New Zealand but is a declared invasive pest in Australia. Help stop its spread in the Waikato by carefully digging out the corms and disposing of them in the rubbish.
Gazania: Often mistaken for wildflowers, this is a small plant that packs a big punch. Each plant can produce thousands of seeds that can drift on the wind for up to a kilometre. They also secrete chemicals into the soil that make it unsuitable for other plants to grow and are highly resistant to many herbicides. A significant problem in Australia, you can help stop gazanias from spreading here by carefully removing them (get the whole root system) and disposing in the rubbish or green waste.
Questions or feedback? Please contact Andrew Anderson at Waikato Regional Council: andrew.anderson@waikatoregion.govt.nz
waikatoregion.govt.nz/coastcare
Thames-Coromandel District Council - Communities caring for our coast
facebook.com/coastcarewaikato
