Posted: 17 December 2010
Act now on garden escapees, public urged
Too many patches of native bush, wetlands, lakes and other natural areas in Northland are being strangled or taken over by garden plants that have ‘jumped the fence’ and gone wild, groups working to control them say.
The Northland Regional Council, Department of Conservation (DOC) and Weedbusters are inviting people to help them fight back on behalf of native species through a ‘Plant Me Instead’ booklet currently being revised for the region.
Sara Brill, a Biosecurity Officer with the Regional Council, says the booklet will identify common weedy species people are likely to find in Northland gardens, with suggestions of similar - but harmless – plants they could use instead.
Ms Brill says weedy species are escaping from dumped garden waste as seeds carried by birds or by wind. They can quickly gain footholds in precious areas where it can be very costly to try to control them.
She says every year local councils, DOC and voluntary groups spend large sums of money in Northland dealing with plant pests.
As part of work on the booklet, members of the public are being invited to have their say until Saturday 30 January 2011on the garden escapees they think are a problem in Northland. Those suggestions can then be incorporated into the booklet as necessary.
“Some of the plants we’re dealing with are very common in gardens, such as tuber ladder fern, Green goddess arum lilies and cotoneaster. We’re finding plants like these more and more often in our natural areas. If we leave them there, they will eventually take over, and we will lose much of the plant and animal diversity that makes Northland such a great place to live.”
Ms Brill says the booklets are expected to be available by the middle of next year and gardeners who take up the call to ‘Plant Me Instead’ will be helping in two ways.
“Not only will they be attacking the seed source that’s helping spread these pest plants, they’ll also be saving themselves (and other ratepayers) money because every weed we stop ‘jumping the fence’ is one less that has to be cleared.”
She says people can email a list of the garden escapees that concern them to gwilliams@doc.govt.nz
Alternatively, hard copy forms are also available for people to fill in at public libraries and council offices throughout Northland or by phoning Sara Brill on (0800) 002 004 or Gina Williams on (09) 470 3331.