It was 2018 and a large kanuka beside Victory Road had just died under a massive cloak of Jasmine, a Puriri had succumbed much earlier, and trees all along the road margin of the Auckland Transport (AT) Reserve were smothered in this shroud of death. Beneath the trees there was an impenetrable forest of Ginger, and there were extensive areas with no trees, just 100 % invasive weeds such as Japanese Honey Suckle and Kikuya.

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The AT reserve is a triangle of land of about 1 ha, bounded on two sides by Victory Road and Warner Park Ave. It is important piece of forest because it contains some very large Puriri.

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One member of Restoration Ruatuna started killing Jasmine while others tackled the Ginger. The Ginger is controlled by cutting the leaves close to the tubers and pasting the cut with a herbicide gel. Attacking the Jasmine was a heroic attempt to save the lives of the trees that it was smothering and so the first step was cutting the Jasmine stems, that number in their thousands per square metre, near to the ground with hedge clippers. This provided rapid relief to the trees because the vine, hanging in the forest canopy, dies and releases the trees to the light they need to survive. But Jasmine is not easily killed - it takes many repeat spraying events of the tangled mass on the ground with herbicide to knock it out. Crucially in this respect in 2019, Restoration Ruatuna obtained written permission to use herbicides in the reserve. Every year since, Jasmine and Ginger have lost ground in the face of countless hours of volunteer effort.

The job, however, is not finished once the Ginger and Jasmine have been eliminated because the open ground and empty forest understories become a vacuum that is quickly filled by other weeds such as Bindweed and Queen of the Night. So along with ongoing control of these and many other invaders, Restoration Ruatuna applied for, and received, funding from Auckland Council for native planting to plug the gaps. When Auckland Council decided it could no longer fund activities on Auckland Transport land, Restoration Ruatuna raised money by selling T-towels – last year this provided $1000 worth of plants. As a result now of several years work, a large steep bank, once covered in Kikuya and household rubbish, is now bursting into Harakeke flower and the tui are getting excited.

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Despite the energetic activity of some Restoration Ruatuna members, it takes a community to protect nature, and Restoration Ruatuna has been blessed with the help and support of the community – support that extends from planting and weeding days in the rain, to donated graphic designs, to the Woodlands Park Coffee Shop selling Restoration Ruatuna T-Towels. Thank you to all who contribute.

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Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari kē he toa takitini - success is the result of a team effort and it takes a community to enable an individual to succeed.

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