Many Projects on the Go
At any one time we have many projects on the go. And the obvious, on-the-ground project work doesn’t happen without all the unseen, background work of planning, co-ordination, management, fundraising, communications, oversight, reporting, accounting, meetings, administration, etc! We are always looking for people who care about our environment to lend a hand, even if it’s only a temporary one. We need all the help we can get, especially at certain times of the year. There are many different ways in which volunteers can become involved, a few of which are:
- Helping out in the plant nursery - always lots to do. We aim to produce 20,000 plants from seeds collected on the Peninsula. Each of these plants has to be managed through its growing process, from sowing seeds, to pricking out seedlings, potting plants into growing medium, weeding, watering, feeding and moving. Enough to keep many volunteers busy! In addition to our regular monthly nursery working bees (dates advertised in our Events section), every Tuesday and Thursday morning we welcome nursery volunteers - please wear covered shoes and bring your own gardening gloves if you have them.
- Planting days on community land - we advertise these well in advance. The more helpers we have, the more plants into the ground and the better for our environment. Just bring a spade and a smile.
- Pest control - we will do all we can to help people carry out pest control on their land. Some landowners find it difficult, for a variety of reasons, to carry out this work. Perhaps you know of a neighbour, or someone who needs a hand with this on their property, and could assist them? We can provide certain supplies at no cost.
- Managing the projects - a small core committee oversees Awhitu Landcare work. Meetings are usually held at 9am on the second Monday each month, with an AGM held in June. We would love to welcome new people onto our committee - come and sit in on a few meetings and see if you like what you hear!
- Writing articles and contributing to our Facebook page - there is a lot of work involved in keeping up our public profile. If you have something of an environmental nature to share - please do.
Contribute - and Have Fun
Everyone has skills which can contribute. Please do contact us if you can donate a few hours of your time. As one of our regular volunteers said recently: “Yes we work, but more importantly we have fun”. Indeed that’s an important part of volunteering; the social side of being part of a community group, and the feeling of wellbeing it gives us all to know we are contributing to a worthy cause, one none of us can do without: a healthy environment.