CoastCare groups
Location of CoastCare groups in Northland
There are CoastCare groups all around the coast of Northland. The location of these groups is shown on the map below.
More information
If you are interested in joining a CoastCare group or starting your own, please contact:
Laura Shaft - CoastCare Co-ordinator
Northland Regional Council
Email: [email protected]
Open a larger version of the CoastCare Group location map in PDF format (PDF, 1.8MB)
About our CoastCare groups
Ahipara Community CoastCare
Date started: 2009
Purpose of group: Protect and restore the dune environment of 90 Mile Beach (Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe) in the Ahipara area to make it a safe place for dotterels, other shorebirds and for everyone to enjoy.
About the group: Ahipara Community CoastCare work closely with local organisations and the Ahipara community. Educating the younger generation about the coastal environment and how they can protect it is central to the group's work.
Contact: Doug Klever
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 09 409 2120
Ahipara Takiwā
Date started: 2009
Purpose of group: Ensure the sustainable use and protection of the Kaimoana/seafood for both present and future generations.
About the group: The role of the Kōmiti includes: the protection and maintenance of wāhi tapu and other cultural/ heritage sites; the placing of rāhui to allow replenishment of harvested resources; directing development in ways which are in keeping with the environment; and implementing tikanga associated with traditional practices.
Contact: Rongo Bentson
Email: [email protected]
Web: Facebook - Ahipara Takiwā
Baylys Beach Society Inc
Date started: 2007
Purpose of group: Reduce and repair vehicle damage to the dunes at Baylys Beach vehicles by fencing, planting and education and enhance the biodiversity of the Baylys Beach area.
About the group: Baylys Beach Society has planted spinifex and pingao on the dunes for several years, assisted in the last few years by students from Dargaville Intermediate School. Plants and fencing have been funded through the NRC Environment Fund, and the Kaipara District Council. The group has also put in a walkway between Chases and Baylys Gorge and is undertaking weed and pest control and planning backdune and streamside planting.
Email: [email protected]
Bream Bay Coastal Care Trust
Date started: 2006
Purpose of group: Help care for and enhance the 700 hectares of coastal land held by the Department of Conservation in Bream Bay.
About the group: Bream Bay Coastal Care Trust helps protect the foredunes south of Ruakaka estuary which have suffered damage from rabbits, people and storm erosion. They collect seed from locally sourced plants and plant spinifex and pingao on damaged sections of dunes. The Trust has planting projects at Ruakaka Dune Lake and Paradise Shores and it maintains the Living Legends planting project at Uretiti. Trust members also maintain lines of predator traps at both the Waipu and Ruakaka estuaries to protect breeding shorebirds.
Contact: Marilyn Cox
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 09 432 0209
Bream Head Restoration Committee
Date started: 2003
Purpose of group: Initiates, directs, and provides advice on restoration outcomes and involvement by the Bream Head Conservation Trust within the Bream Head Scenic Reserve.
About the group: The Bream Head Restoration Committee has led an active revegetation programme to establish a range of local indigenous species on slopes around the western end of the reserve fringe from Urquhart's Bay towards Busby Head.
The committee also works with local agencies to undertake dune restoration work including planting and weed control at Smugglers Bay and Ocean Beach.
Contacts: Wendy Holland and Geoff Pike
Email:
Wendy Holland: [email protected]
Geoff Pike: [email protected]
Website: breamheadtrust.nz
Brookers Beach CoastCare
Date started: 2011
Purpose of group: Restore native biodiversity and reduce erosion of a coastal reserve by planting natives.
About the group: Informal group of local residents working with Whananaki School to plant natives for the protection of Mangaiti Bay.
Glinks Gully Protection Society
Date started: 2002
Purpose of group: Protect the special character and natural environment of Glinks Gully.
About the group: Glinks Gully Protection Society members have been involved with the restoration of a back dune area located at the southern end of the Glinks Gully settlement. A successful weed control and replanting programme was undertaken with funding from Northland Regional Council's Environment Fund. The group is continuing to work on pest plant and animal control in the Gully.
Hukatere CoastCare
Date started: 2012
Purpose of group: To protect the sand dunes at Hukatere from vehicle damage and help them recover.
About the group: Hukatere is on Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe / 90 Mile Beach north of Waipapakauri. Erosion from vehicles on the dunes is causing sand to blow inland. Planting has taken place to help keep the sand on the dunes and allow them to build up again where they have been eroded down.
Karikari Peninsula Beach Care Group
Date started: 2007
Purpose of group: The aim of the group is to raise awareness of environmental protection and restoration of the beach and the impacts of inappropriate vehicle use on the beach and dunes.
About the group: The Karikari Peninsula Beach Care Group was formed in response to a growing number of coastal issues in the area including careless use of vehicles on the beach and dunes.
Langs Beach CoastCare
Date started: 2016
Purpose of group: Restore the dunes at Langs Beach and protect the shorebirds which nest on the beach.
About the group: The group was formed by Langs Beach residents concerned about damage to the dunes by vehicles parking and driving through them and at disturbance to the threatened Northern New Zealand dotterel which nests on the beach. The first stage of the group's work is fencing the dunes at the northern end of the beach and assisting the dune restoration with planting. The group also puts temporary fencing around the dotterel nests in the breeding season.
Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society
Date started: 1994
Purpose of group: The Society works to protect and restore the Mangawhai sand spit and the harbour it shelters.
About the group: Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society was formed after a large storm breached the spit to form a second entrance to the south of Mangawhai Harbour. The Society has been successful in establishing a nursery which has grown thousands of native spinifex and pingao plants. These have been planted on the spit by volunteers from the community and members of the society. The planting, fencing and rabbit control are part of a longer term programme which hopes to see the spit completely re-vegetated.
Mangawhai Heads CoastCare Group
Date started: 2015
Purpose: To protect and enhance the foreshore of Mangawhai's greatest assets its harbour and beach.
About the group: Mangawhai Heads CoastCare Group was established to restore the dunes at the ocean beach. The group brings together a dedicated group of retirees supported by our local school, nursery Rural Design, Northland Regional Council, Kaipara District Council and the Dune Restoration Trust of New Zealand. The Mangawhai Heads ocean beach project has been broken down into three stages, with the first two stages of weed control and planting done. The group hopes to complete the area in 2017, although weed control and other maintenance will be ongoing.
Ngunguru Sandspit Protection Society
Date started: 2007
Purpose of group: The society's mission is to support protection of the natural, cultural and historic values of Ngunguru Sandspit so it is enjoyed, valued and cherished now and by future generations.
About the group: Having worked to save Ngunguru Sandspit from development the group is now working to restore and protect its biodiversity and cultural values.
Website: ncag.org.nz
Russell Landcare Trust – Long Beach dune restoration
Date started: Dune restoration was started in 2010
Purpose of group: Russell Land Care Group has been working with local residents at Long Beach in the Bay of Islands to restore the foredunes along the beach front.
About the group: Spinifex, pingao, wiwi and other native plants have planted around existing patches of spinifex and temporary fencing put in to protect the plants from people walking on and off the beach. Sand-ladders have also been put in to improve access down to the beach and reduce erosion.
Contact: David McKenzie
Phone: 09 403 7756
Sandy Bay CoastCare
Date started: 2008
Purpose of group: Restore foredunes by planting pingao and spinifex and protecting from foot and vehicle traffic.
About the group: This is an informal group of local residents working together with Whangarei District Council and Northland Regional Council to protect and restore the dunes at Sandy Bay.
Taipa Beach Improvement Society
Date started: Dune restoration was started in 2007
Purpose of group: Making Taipa beach a safe and inviting place to visit and enjoy for people of all ages.
About the group: Starting with the reserve area, the group has now also successfully restored the foredune along most of the beach frontage and is continuing to work to maintain this. The Society encourages all local residents and students to 'protect, respect and monitor' the beach.
Contact: Merv Priestly (Chair), Richelle Sayers
Web: Facebook - Taipa Beach Improvement Society (aka The Taipa Workgroup)
Tauranga Bay Community Association
Date started: Dune restoration was started in 2007
Purpose of group: A sub-committee of the Tauranga Bay Community Association was formed to work on CoastCare activities and protection of nesting dotterels.
About the group: in 2007 funding was received from Far North District Council to place bollards to keep vehicles away from the beach frontage. Reshaping and planting of spinifex and pingao was then undertaken to help restore the dunes. The group has erected fencing and signage to protect the New Zealand dotterel nesting sites on the sand spit. They also undertake pest control to further protect the wildlife.
Contact: Mary and Monte Woodworth
Email: [email protected]
Te Ngaere Bay CoastCare
Date started: 2009
Purpose of group: To protect the shorebirds and plants of Te Ngaere Bay and enhance the natural beauty of the bay.
About the group: Further planting of spinifex and pingao along the foreshore at Te Ngaere Bay is planned to help recovery from erosion and increase the native biodiversity of the bay.
Contact: Amanda Bransgrove
Website: www.facebook.com/TeNgaereBay
Te Pahii Wildlife Sanctuary
Date started: 2002
Purpose of group: Restoration of a formerly grazed coastal site, including sand dune and backdune areas.
About the group: Te Pahii is just south of Elliot Bay on Rawhiti Road. The owners fenced off the land over thirty years ago and since this time have planted over a thousand native trees, weeded, protected historic sites and trapped many hundred pests. In the last few years pingao has been planted into the spinifex dunes to re-establish the natural pingao population which had been devastated by rabbit browsing.
Contact: Peter Sharpe
Email: [email protected]
Te Roopu Whakaoranga O Te Taha Moana Trust
Date started: 2000
Purpose of group: Preserve, re-establish and restore endangered taonga in the coastal environment. The Trust focuses on replenishing populations of Toheroa and Pingao alongside each other in acknowledgement of the relationship between the two.
About the group: Te Roopu Whakaoranga O Te Taha Moana grow pingao from seed and share their knowledge of the ecological and cultural importance of this plant. The group has produced a number of publications, including How to make a Pingao Putiputi and Nana's Koha.
Contact: Betsy Young
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 09 409 8568
Tern Point Recreation and Conservation Society
Date started: 1999
Purpose of group: Maintain the 136 hectare area of Tern Point.
About the group: Tern Point is a gated community adjoining a block of Department of Conservation land, situated on the Mangawhai Peninsula. The group has carried out planting every year for over ten years. They initially planted mainly pingao but now plant predominately spinifex as it is more effective at holding the sand on the dunes. They have also undertaken planting of natives along the estuary foreshore.
Tokerau-Whatuwhiwhi Residents and Ratepayers Association
Date started: Dune restoration started in 2012
About the group: The Residents Association has started it's restoration efforts with the frontage of Waiotaraire Reserve, just south of the Melissa Road ramp and plans to continue this work along the beach.
Contact: Brian Page
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 09 408 7197
Waipapakauri Coastal Care Group
Date started: 2004
Purpose of group: Restore the damaged dune system near the Waipapakauri access point to Ninety Mile Beach (Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe) through management of sand dune inundation and degradation being caused by pedestrians, vehicles and wild horses.
About the group: Dunes have been fenced off and a single pathway for pedestrian access from the car park to the beach has been created using locally donated materials and the group's own labour. Thousands of the native sand-binders spinifex and pingao have been planted on the dunes by group members, local residents and local schools.
Contact: Mary Jane Ardley
Email: [email protected]
Waipu Cove Reserve Board
Date started: Dune restoration started in 2006
Purpose of group: The Board manages Waipu Cove reserve and camping ground and is committed to ensuring a high quality visitor experience.
About the group: The beach-front at Waipu Cove is gradually being restored from steep exotic grass bank to native fore dune. This has been undertaken in stages with each section reshaped and densely planted with spinifex, pingao and some back dune species. Fences and accessways have been put in place to reduce impact on the recovering dune from foot traffic.
Contact: Anton Trist
Phone: 09 432 0410
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.campwaipucove.com/board
Get more information:
For more information on any of these groups or to start your own group, contact:
Laura Shaft
CoastCare Co-ordinator
Northland Regional Council
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0800 002 004