March 6, 2001

The residents of Waitakere are being asked to do their bit for the war effort, the city’s war on weeds that is.

The ARC, Waitakere City Council and Keep Waitakere Beautiful have joined forces to wage war on nine species of weeds with a 10 day campaign from March 9 - 19. The targets are Ginger, Lantana, Himalayan Honeysuckle, Wandering Jew Plectrantus, Ivy, Bartlettina, Tree Privet and Sweet Pea Shrub.

ARC Waitakere constituency councillor Maureen Brooker says all nine species are ecological weeds and all are widespread in Waitakere.

“Weeds such as these are a major threat to our native species so removing them is vital for the regeneration of Waitakere’s precious native bush,” Cr Brooker says.

“The councils are constantly assisting with weed control on public land and now it’s the community’s responsibility to help us with weeds on private land by identifying them and getting rid of them,”

Cr Brooker says to make it easy for the community to do their bit, 25 bins will be placed throughout the city for free disposal of the weeds. Posters identifying the weeds will be on display around the city and Waitakere libraries will be holding Weed ID days to provide more information on the weeds and how best to get rid of them.

For the campaign to be most effective Cr Brooker is urging the community to respect the weed bins by using them for the disposal of weeds only. She is also encouraging residents to take the opportunity to replace weeds with plants which are native to the area.

For information on Weed ID days and bin sites call 839-0400 or for information on plant pests call the ARC’s Enviroline on 366-2070.

For further information please call:
Cr Maureen Brooker, Phone 366-2000 ext 8177, Mobile 025 232 8255
Simon Roche, ARC Communications, Phone 366-2000 ext 8100, Mobile 021 656 380.

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