Woontons Lane, named after Captain Woonton who came out from the Channel Islands in 1878, was originally a farm track. It is a key access point to Davies Bay. Once a holiday area with many holiday baches, today it is a diverse community and the farmland has regenerated to forest, along with many flourishing invasive weeds.
To tackle the weed problem, the Woontons Lane Community came out in force for a working bee in June. Nearly 20 neighbours worked together, armed with spades and rubbish bags, to clear ginger and other weeds along the reserve that the Lane traverses. As well as clearing a huge amount of weeds and filling the 12m3 bin, about 5 rubbish bags were collected with some interesting discoveries (including a couple of old engines and some very old beer bottles). Many children really enjoyed the day and would have kept going if they could!
Thanks to Ecomatters and the Waitākere Local Board for making a grant available for the bin. And thanks to STNN for creating the neighbourly network we can all contribute to. Next step for this neighbourhood is training in Kauri Dieback Prevention.