End-of-Year Event: A Sweet Success
Our end-of-year community event was a wonderful way to celebrate another year of pest control efforts and continuing to learn in our shared mission to restore the local gullies and protect biodiversity. Pest plants—the bane of every gully restorer’s life—take a real toll on our native species, so it was fantastic to see so many familiar faces (and a few new ones) coming together to learn more about this topic.
We were fortunate to have Annemarie Robb from Waikato Regional Council join us as our guest speaker. Annemarie gave an engaging talk about significant pest plants in our region, including the invasive species they are working to eradicate, such as evergreen buckthorn and alligator weed. She also addressed the species that we, as a community, need to tackle ourselves, like privet, pampas, and woolly nightshade. These plants pose a serious threat to our local ecosystems, and it’s up to us to do our bit to keep them under control.
Annemarie Robb sharing her expertise, Image credit A Ewing
One of the highlights of Annemarie’s presentation was her discussion on biotoxins, such as Tradescantia leaf beetle and stem beetle, which are proving to be an effective and environmentally friendly way to manage Tradescantia (also known as wandering willy or inch plant). These biotoxins are now available locally: contact us if you’d like to know how to get hold of them and make a real impact on this persistent weed!
Inspecting the infected Tradescantia, Image credit A Ewing
Of course, no community event would be complete without a little celebration, and Robyn once again worked her magic with an absolutely stunning cake—this time to mark a huge milestone: 7,000 pests caught so far! It vanished in record time (I’m starting to suspect some of you turn up just for Robyn’s cakes!), and it was a fitting way to celebrate such a significant achievement. It’s no small feat and testament to the dedication and hard work of our entire community. Whether you’ve been trapping, putting out bait, tackling weeds, or lending support in other ways, every contribution matters and makes a real difference.
Celebrating 7,000 pests with Robyn’s stunning bat-themed cake!
A huge thank you to Annemarie Robb for her expert knowledge, to Robyn for yet another cake masterpiece, and to everyone who came along. Your support and commitment to our local environment are what keep this work moving forward. Here’s to another year of protecting our native plants and wildlife, tackling animal pests and weeds, and, yes, enjoying a lot of cake!
