North Shore streams, ecosystems and threatened species will benefit from $400,000 of funding from the Kaipātiki Local Board’s locally driven initiatives budget for the 2018/19 financial year - a 38% increase towards environmental initiatives compared to the previous financial year.
Kaipātiki Local Board Member Anne-Elise Smithson says, “Two-thirds of Auckland’s native species are threatened with extinction and kauri could die out completely in the next 30 years. The time to act is now.”
Kaipātiki Local Board identified the aspiration in its 2017 local board plan to achieve a natural environment that is protected for future generations to enjoy.
“During the consultation process for the plan, our community made it clear they were overwhelmingly supportive of the proposed environmental initiatives,” says Kaipātiki Local Board Chair John Gillon.
“We've now responded to that by significantly boosting the budget in support of our environment and parkland, and introducing a range of new initiatives, including reducing sediment into streams from building sites, a strategy for protecting kauri, and identifying locations for pollinator paths, food forests, and natural meadows,” says Gillon.
Seven significant environmental projects receiving funding include:
- Industry Pollution Prevention: $30,000 to deliver site inspections, spill training and education for industry and business owners about the impacts their activities may be having on local waterways.
- Small Building Sites Ambassador: $20,000 for a new project to reduce the environmental impact of small building sites. An ambassador will work alongside the council’s compliance team to reduce the amount of sedimentation and litter entering our waterways.
- Pest Free Kaipātiki Strategy Implementation: $100,000 for continued pest animal and plant removal together with habitat and species restoration.
- Kaipātiki Project Environmental Centre Operational Funding: $45,000 provided for the continued support of the operations of the Kaipātiki Project Environmental Centre.
- Stream Quality Monitoring: $20,000 for a new community-based stream monitoring and restoration project.
- Kauri Dieback Strategy for Kaipātiki: $10,000 towards a strategy for reducing the risk of kauri dieback disease in the Kaipātiki Local Board area.
- Open Space Management Plan: $80,000 towards the creation of a single management plan that sets out actions needed to protect and enhance all of our local parks and reserves.
The budget boost also includes support for park volunteers, a new project to increase the ecological value of parks and a contribution to Auckland’s Ngahere Strategy to increase urban canopy cover.
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