Written by Frances Hancock
Two community working bees were held in
Mangere Bridge during the month of May, focusing on an annual weeding of
mangrove seedlings along Kiwi Esplanade. This is done to maintain our views of
and access to the harbor.
Friends of the Farm co-ordinated the working
bees, in partnership with Mangere Bridge Residents and Ratepayers and with
support from Auckland Council, who supplied bags and gloves and arranged pick
up of the mangroves.
We were lucky enough to have fine, mild
weather on both days - perfect for the task at hand. Set up was at 9.30 am and we were finished by
1pm. We established a base at the
Mangere Boat Club and most people came and registered here first and received
instructions on health and safety, before being directed to a patch. We encouraged people to work in small groups
for comradery and to maintain safety, as well as to make it easier to see the difference
we were making with our efforts. Friends of the Farm organisers went along the
esplanade to check progress, ensure health and safety, offer assistance and
answer questions. The boat club provided a wash down area for people to use at
the end.
39 people gathered for the first working
bee, working for a combined total of 90 hours and collecting around about 68
bags of mangroves. The second working
bee also attracted 39 volunteers, who gathered 45 bags in a total of 88 hours -
a huge amount of volunteer time! All in
all, we fairly well cleared most of the seedlings along the waterfront from the
old bridge to the farm, with only a few spots remaining.
Many of the volunteers have done working
bees before, but it was also great to see new residents in the area wanting to
get connected and make a difference. Chris
and Suzie Lockett from A1Cuts used their van and trailer to collect the
bags of mangrove seedlings along the esplanade, which they delivered to the
boat club for collection by Council contractors. Janine and long-time volunteer Darren, from
the Farm, were responsible for set up and clean up and as usual did a stellar
job. Jon Baulcomb from the boat club
opened up bollards on the esplanade to enable easy access to the foreshore
where people were working. Thanks also to Kara at Council for supporting our
efforts.
There were some tired bodies at the end of
the day, as it was sometimes difficult trawling through the thick heavy
mud. As a group, we’ve developed a good
system of organisation and were better at focusing on defined patches so we
could really see a difference at the end of our efforts. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers for
your work!
