Parks within the Waitematā Local Board area are going agri-chemical free.
The first parks to benefit will be Albert, Western and Myers, with the non-sports sections of Victoria Park also included.
Board parks, sports and recreation portfolio lead Adriana Avendaño Christie says as a start the board has allocated more than $70,000 to the initiative, which comes in response to public feedback during the Local Board Long-Term Plan consultation process.
"The money has been committed by the board to make some of the parks we care for agri-chemical free, a move that was very widely supported during consultation on our local initiatives earlier this year," she said.
"As part of the consultation, we asked if the community supported our priority and it’s great to have been able to make a start on delivering on it.
"It is quite complex because it involves maintenance contract variations, but we are delighted that first-up Albert, Myers, and Western parks will all go agri- chemical free, as will the non-sport-field sections of Victoria Park."
The gardens around Highwic House in Newmarket have been testing using steam technology to manage weeds, and other methods now on offer include a super-heated water blaster designed for city parks and an electro-thermal lance that shoots electricity through a plant’s root system.
