Board commits to a greener future

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Source: Auckland Council

More than $170,000 has been committed to green projects by Franklin Local Board under its Local Environmental Work Programme.

Every year boards across the city adopt an Environmental Work Programme to respond to the outcomes in their Local Board Plan.

Board chair Angela Fulljames says the board’s programme has been developed through a series of workshops where the board provided feedback to staff on priorities.

“Our people were very vocal during consultation on our plan, and the wider Auckland Council budgets that followed, that we should continue to take measures to protect the environment and mitigate climate change,” she says.

“Much of what we have funded is designed to take action locally and we remain committed to doing that by empowering groups to take measures in their own communities.”

The Franklin Local Board Local Environmental Work Programme includes:

  • C.R.E.S.T Programme – $20,000

  • Manukau Harbour Forum – $8,000

  • Papakura Stream Restoration programme – $14,000

  • Predator Free Franklin Te Ara Hikoi – $45,000

  • Te Korowai o Papatūānuku – $30,000

  • Te rapu nga pekapeka o Franklin: Finding Franklin Bats – $5,000

  • Zero Waste Education & Events Franklin – $50,000.

The programme has a total value of $172,000.

Zero Waste Waiuku guru Sue Wallis will continue to work with the community and her team to create a town that limits its waste.

“We are delighted to acknowledge that the work programme also provides for more than $5million in regionally funded expenditure that will occur in our area for coastal renewals,” Fulljames says.

“Much of that, $1.1million, will be spent at Tamakae Reserve  in Waikuku to renew the wharf structure, and we will see $1million allocated to renewing coastal assets at Big Bay Reserve, $400,000 for steps and fencing at Clarks Beach, and $100,000 to investigate renewing the wave barrier and boat ramp at Glenbrook, where another $1.2million will be spent to renew assets.

“At Hudsons Beach $100,000 will fund replacement of a damaged timber seawall, there is $350,000 for resurfacing the Kawakawa Bay ramp, and $200,000 for wharf repairs at Magazine Bay.

“The same amount will be spent on the Maraetai beachfront seawall and walkways, with $100,000 to renew a timber sea wall at Pollok Wharf Road, and $700,000 for the Sunkist Bay sea wall renewal project.”

The CREST programme (Clarks, Rangiriri, Elletts, Seagrove Trappers) undertakes pest control to protect threatened wading birds and their habitat along the southern Manukau Harbour. The area has expanded to Waiau Pā, Te Hihi, and Kingseat, where a possum control area has been created.

Franklin is one on nine boards that fund the Manukau Harbour Forum, and joins with Papakura and Manurewa in the Papakura Stream – which flows through all three areas.

Predator Free Franklin Te Ara Hikoi focuses on delivering community-led pest control efforts across Franklin, while Te Korowai o Papatūānuku supports biodiversity and water quality improvements of culturally and ecologically significant sites to Ngāti Te Ata on the Āwhitu Peninsula. Sites to be included are Waipipi, Reretēwhioi Marae, and Tāhuna Pā.

Planting maintenance of those sites will be supported.

Te rapu nga pekapeka o Franklin: Finding Franklin Bats works to develop the understanding of long-tailed bat populations in the area in a bid to inform decisions to protection the critically endangered taonga species, while Zero Waste work delivers learning events in collaboration with the community that achieve more zero waste and environmental objectives.

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