Whāingaroa Weedbuster volunteers, local residents and kids join forces for a planting day at the AroAro Reserve wetland
If you live in Raglan, you’ve probably heard of the great work which gets done by the Whāingaroa Weedbusters, ridding our land of invasive weeds and planting new areas in native trees and bush. The residents of Aro-Aro Lane, Violet St and Government Road found out for themselves recently how much of a “Force for Nature” the Weedbusters really are.
These residents look down on a 4-6 hectare area of flat, degraded wetland inland from the rugby grounds, which used to connect to the saltmarsh beside the Wallis Street causeway. The area is covered in weeds, with pampas grass surrounding it, blackberry brambles taking over and something called Manchurian Rye Grass marching in from the drainage ditches. Last year, a group of locals got together and planted nearly 1,000 native trees, but most of these were choked out by the weeds and died out over the wet summer.
This year, the residents had some strategic advice from Tim Newton of Green Footprint/Te Rekereke Taiao Trust, who is involved in many planting and native vegetation restoration projects in the Raglan coastal area. Tim suggested a planting strategy — focusing on restoration ‘islands’ that contain planting and weed control efforts to smaller, more manageable areas — which would give some native species a chance to grow to canopy height, in turn shading out the weeds and allowing native bush and birdlife to flourish.
With Tim on board and a generous donation from resident Blake Richardson, the question for the residents was: “Who you gonna call?” to help get all the work done. The only answer was the Whāingaroa Weedbusters. They arrived early in the morning, shrugging off howling wind, freezing temperatures and blasting rain squalls, armed with home-made scones and thermoses.
The Weedbusters’ determination raised morale among the local families, who had been hiding inside and watching the rain fall. Kids were wrapped up in raincoats and gumboots and came out to pitch in. Almost as soon as they did, Nature came to the party: the rain stopped and the sun came out. Six ‘islands’ of karimu, kahikatea, harakeke and cabbage trees were created thanks to the amazing teamwork that day. The residents see this as a starting point for replanting the whole reserve, providing a place for children to play and a sanctuary for local birdlife.
Given we’re now nearing the end of the 2026 planting season, the residents welcome any donations of leftover seedlings from local nurseries. If you’d like to offer plants or get involved in restoration work here, please contact John Watson 021 946 673.
