Source: Auckland Council
Howick are you ready for another outstanding year for the Pest Free Howick Ward (PFHW) Moth Plant Pod Competition 2025!
But wait, there’s more…things are a bit different this year.
The run down
There are now THREE exciting categories: Early Childhood Education (ECE), Whole School (Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary), and Open. The Open category brings the excitement with a 10-team member limit, while the ECE and Whole School categories will see entire schools battling it out as one powerhouse team.
The open category also allows community groups, homeschool, sports teams and whanau groups to participate together.
Register here. Official competition period will be Monday 03rd March until Friday 09th May. Follow the Pest Free Howick Ward Facebook page for up-to-date information.
The celebration cluster will be on Wednesday 18th June where all participants are encouraged to join in the celebration.
Supporting initiatives like sustainable schools, Pest Free Howick, and the Friends of Mangemangeroa is a key part of the Howick Local Board plan, helping preserve our natural environment for future generations.
Board chair Damian Light is excited for this year’s competition and wants to remind the community that you don’t have to be a kid to make a difference!
Light says, “This competition is open to all. Last year was incredible. Participants collected 68,548 pods and 59,559 small vines, meaning approximately 2.1 million seeds that will not germinate in the future.
“What’s truly wonderful about this is that we get to learn about all the amazing student or community-led initiatives happening behind the scenes – from tree plantings and school gardens to waste minimisation efforts. It’s encouraging to see how these projects go beyond just collecting moth pods and having fun. They’re about education, creativity, and schools and groups are truly putting their own unique spin on making a positive impact on the environment for years to come.”
2024 Pest Free Howick Ward end of competition celebration.
This year, PFHW are introducing an AI-powered system to assist with pod counting.
Developed over the past year with input from college students across Auckland, the system analyses submitted photos and tallies pod counts more efficiently, allowing them to track your collective impact more accurately.
Pest Free Howick Ward Project Manager Abi Cunninghame shares, “It’s amazing to see how technology can support our conservation work. We’re excited to start this year’s Moth Plant Pod Competition and even more excited to see everyone getting involved. The change in team format is hopefully going to take some of the burden off our amazing enviro teachers who will be able to work with other teachers at their school as well as the wider community.
“We encourage schools to promote the competition to the wider community and get neighbours to drop off pods and seedlings to contribute to a school or ECE’s grand total. If you live near a school and have this weed in your yard, you can drop off pods and vines to help boost our environmental efforts in Howick.”
Every pod removed today is thousands of seeds that won’t invade tomorrow.
To learn more about the Pest Free Howick Ward, visit their website.
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