Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season...... Read More

The community’s views on freedom camping were firmly stated to Auckland Council’s governing body again by the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board at its September 18 meeting. In August, the Governing Body voted to start the process of creating a...... Read More

Protection of kauri in Eave’s Bush has a price tag of almost $400,000. The bush reserve, in Orewa, contains around 1000 kauri, including more than 400 within 10m of the track network and so far the trees are free of kauri dieback disease. In June,...... Read More

World Cleanup Day, September 21, found Sara Kulins of Puhoi fossiking around the rocks and shoreline of Orewa Beach collecting rubbish. The scientist and marine educator is part of the Brand Audit 2019 initiative – a citizen science project where...... Read More

I was asked by Silverdale School if I would be the gardener for their Garden to Table programme.  One look at the unlikely site that the school wanted to develop into a garden would have had most gardeners quickly departing. The area was covered...... Read More

According to Auckland Council, this area is doing better than many in terms of its “urban forest” – the amount of tree canopy cover it has. Council has been developing a strategy to address concerns about loss of tree cover resulting...... Read More

Historic fruit trees dating back to the days when Puhoi was settled by migrants from Bohemia may get a new lease of life, thanks to a community orchard project for the township’s riverside park. The Puhoi Community Forum is planning to plant nine...... Read More

Environmentalist Russell Cullen wants to bring more native birds back into Warkworth and has a master plan to eliminate all the rats that feed on them. Russell says an estimated 68,000 native New Zealand birds are killed every night by introduced predators...... Read More

The Mahurangi River Restoration Trust, desperate to find funding to continue dredging the Mahurangi River, got no joy from a Mayoral Candidates meeting at the Warkworth Town Hall on September 20. The trust was forced to suspend dredging operations...... Read More

Compulsory Council registration of cats, along the same lines as dogs, is one of the issues that was raised by local boards as Auckland Council reviews its 2015 Animal Management Bylaw. Other cat controls discussed in the informal local board feedback...... Read More