Opinion: Combating pests involves lots of people

Penny Gaylor.

Weekly column by Kāpiti's Greater Wellington Regional Council representative Penny Gaylor.

Last Thursday was the meeting of Wellington Regional Council's environment committee which I chair.

The 110-page agenda traversed numerous updates, such as the Crown-funded environmental projects (things like Jobs 4 Nature on the Waikanae River), the Regional Pest Management Plan, GWRC's Farming Reference Group, and the Department of Conservation's Regional Pest Management Plan.

You bet there is a theme running through here. Right across our region, make that right across the country, regional councils, DoC, farmers, and increasingly urban property owners, are vexed with the challenges of pests.

And here's the summary of GWRC activities on Kāpiti Coast as they were reported back to the committee:

Parks staff put in a huge effort to get 5000 natives planted at Queen Elizabeth Park in September 2021, after the SpadeAid event scheduled for the public was cancelled due to Covid-19 alert level restrictions.

Planning for the Kāpiti whaitua is under way. New terms of reference need to be developed in consultation with mana whenua and Kāpiti Coast District Council (KCDC) and brought to council for adoption. Initial meetings have been held with KCDC to discuss scope, timeframes, resourcing and Tiriti House approach.

KCDC are submitting technical assessments that will support the consent application for the Paraparaumu wastewater treatment plant discharge consent application (renewal) to Greater Wellington in October 2021 for comment. The consent application is due to be lodged late December 2021.

Rabbit inquiries and pre-planting protection works continue, with some big numbers being shot now there are young rabbits around (eg 325 were shot in one night from two sites in Waikanae and 245 shot in one night from two properties in Reikōrangi).

Pest plants staff are working with the Ministry for Primary Industries and DoC to control sea spurge incursion at two sites on the Kapiti Coast and have completed control operations of Senegal tea.

Flood protection officers are working with Ngāti Kapu on a flood risk management strategy for the Waitohu. We have secured a consultant to provide support to the project and will be modelling options developed by Ngāti Kapu and the community.