KĀKĀ (Karori Kaitiaki), in partnership with Wellington Rotary Clubs, is planning to make the Birdwood Reserve more environmentally attractive and sustainable.
Why Birdwood Reserve?
For decades Birdwood Reserve has been largely ignored despite being at the very entrance to Karori. It is a beautiful stream gully, but it is steep sided and hard to access other than via the St John’s Pool track round the Sanctuary. As a result, Birdwood Reserve had been unloved, weedy and full of rubbish. KĀKĀ and its predecessor, Friends of Birdwood Reserve members, have in recent years pulled literally truckloads of rubbish out of the reserve.
What we’re planning
- More extensive weeding and ‘tidying up’ the vegetation.
- A robust pathway through the reserve.
- More accessible pest trapping, making the reserve safer for birds and their eggs.
- Regular weeding by volunteers, who are already offering their services.
- Cleaner water: the purity of the stream will be restored.
The track
We have worked with Wellington City Council to work out the best route, as some parts are steep and the pathway needs to cross the Kaiwharawhara Stream once. This means the track will be built partly by contractors and partly by volunteers.
The cost of construction, in cash, materials and labour, is estimated at $100,000. Through fundraising so far, the Birdwood Reserve Environmental Project Group (BREPG) has raised over $23,000 in cash, plus approximately the same value in volunteer time and materials pledged.
Plans and consents are all in place, so the project is ‘shovel ready’. Funding permitting, the track will be built later this year.
Our aim
We aim to create a greater sense of community ownership, appreciation and care of Birdwood Reserve by making it more environmentally friendly for all.