The Pest-Free Kaipātiki Restoration Society (Pest Free Kaipātiki) is working with the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office, helping local communities plan for their recovery. This is part of a series of partnerships in heavily- impacted communities across Auckland. Communities will be supported to develop practical plans, which will include activities and priorities that can be delivered to improve wellbeing and flourishing as they recover.
More than 230 homes in Beach Haven, Northcote Point and Birkenhead were affected by landslips or flooding last year, with 118 of them having serious access issues.
While most locals have moved on with their lives, the road to recovery continues for others: some of these homes will never be safe to live in again.
As affected residents work toward their recovery, Pest Free Kaipātiki has partnered with the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office to help coordinate a wider recovery plan for these communities.
Pest Free Kaipātiki started out from a collection of localised community reserve groups wanting to make a more united impact in restoring and protecting their special places. It is now providing support to 55 reserve and cluster groups in the Kaipātiki area with anything from pest control advice/equipment to guidance on planting natives that reduce landslide risk.
You might wonder what a pest-free group is doing leading a community conversation about storm recovery.
“The social and natural environment are both our kaupapa,” says Annie Dignan, Pest Free Kaipātiki’s General Manager.
“The way we look after the land and water around us has a direct impact on flooding and landslips, and vice versa. And our neighbourhoods really felt the impact of last year’s storms.”
Healing and resilience through nature
“I had barely finished mopping out the bottom of my place when we decided to set up a get together for locals at our hub. I will always remember sitting here and seeing people crying and still in shock,” Annie tears up describing the moment.
“It was a loss on a number of levels – their land, their homes, and the experience they had just had. There is also a big fear of when this will happen again.
“We knew we had to do something practical. So, we pulled together a taskforce to focus our efforts on remediating one reserve as a start. The turnout was great, and you could see the emotion and processing that was taking place in how hard people were working.
“Then we started reaching out to a range of other experts and pulled together information relevant to our area about planting for slip stabilisation. We know ground and tree cover is so important.
“From there we created a guide so that people could plant natives at home to reduce their own landslide risk. We even helped people provide feedback on plans for how council will be responding to coastal hazards and climate change.
“People realised it wasn’t a hopeless situation, that there are things they can do to make a difference the next time a storm comes around.”
Pest Free Kaipātiki's planting for slip stabilisation guide
Planning a way forward
Working with the Recovery Office, Pest Free Kaipātiki has been engaging with these communities to help them plan for their recovery.
“The key question we want people to think about is what the community needs to feel like they are moving forward and flourishing. It’s up to people to shape the outcomes, so the results could be anything really - from physical things and places, to programmes and events.
“We’ve done a series of in-person events and there will be more opportunities for people to engage and contribute to the recovery plan for their neighbourhoods, including individual and group interviews, workshops, library displays, and online polls. There will even be Mandarin events to engage our growing Chinese community."
“So you can participate in whatever way makes sense for you!”
Engagement for Beach Haven, Northcote Point and Birkenhead recovery plans will continue with Pest Free Kaipātiki’s support until mid-2025.
Visit Pest Free Kaipātiki’s website to find out how to participate.
Community recovery planning session in Kaipātiki
