Wild About Te Atatū
Te Atatū comprises two populous suburbs located in central West Auckland, comprised of Te Atatū South and Te Atatū Peninsula. Just over the causeway from the central city, the area includes sites that have been identified as Significant Ecological Areas. These areas are host to many native and migratory species that are under threat due to declining habitat, invasion of pest plants and animals, and decreasing water quality.
Community Waitākere co-ordinates community engagement activities for the Wild About Te Atatū initiative through three key areas:
Our education component focuses on collaborating with local schools and community groups to promote a better understanding and connection with the world around us.
By enriching the student’s kaitiakitanga, we encourage a deeper understanding of how their actions can impact their local environment.
Participants take part in hands-on learning opportunities that connect their hearts, hands and minds to their local place.
Harbourview-Orangihina Reserve is one of the designated Ecological Significance areas. Wild About Te Atatū facilitates community ecological restoration of the reserve to support the numerous bird and fish species that call this area home. These include Īnanga, Banded Rail (Moho Pererū), NZ Fernbird (Mātātā), NZ Dotterel, and the recently confirmed Matuku and Spotless Crake.
Wider community engagement and backyard conservation is driven by our Pest Coordinator, who aids local residents to play a role in the long-term vision of a Pest Free Te Atatū from their own backyard. If you’d like to get involved, check out this guide to setting and tracking pest traps in your backyard.
We also work with Te Atatū Community Nursery, who are focused on diversity – both plants and community. As part of this, we regularly engage people with intellectual and physical disabilities in the propagation and maintenance of specialist plants - in particular ferns, wetland species and rare natives. The plants they grow are then used to add richness and diversity to a variety of local ecological restoration projects, such as our Project Twin Streams programme, on Te Wai-o-Pareira creek and the Orangihina Community Restoration Project on Te Atatū Peninsula.
You can follow along with our progress and find more opportunities to get involved by checking in on the Wild About Te Atatū Facebook page or signing up to the Community Waitākere newsletter.