Maungawhau Ecological Halo

With Phil Simpson and Paul Whitfield

Stall from 10am-2pm on Saturday 22 May in the Hall

Mount Eden Village Centre, 449 Mount Eden Road

The Maungawhau Ecological Halo is a community-led project to develop a buffer zone to protect and enhance the diversity of native bird life around Mount Eden.

Community conservation organisation Urban Ark - Manawa Taiao is supporting residents, business owners and schools to control predators, plant ‘bird friendly’ native shrubs and trees and suppress invasive weeds on their private properties.

Visit the Maungawhau Ecological Halo table at the Wellbeing Day Out and receive a free rat trap + safety box.

They can provide advice about how to set your trap, what natives to plant and which weeds to target.

The halo builds on the legacy of the Friends of Maungawhau who, since the 1980s, have made great strides in improving the native biodiversity on and around the maunga. They continue to work restoring the old Batger Quarry on the mountain’s western flank.

The halo also prevents re-invasion of pest animals and invasive weeds to the summit of the maunga itself, where since 2014, the Tūpuna Maunga Authority have reduced predators, built a boardwalk to protect culturally significant archaeological sites, and pedestrianised the tihi (summit).

The Maungawhau Ecological Halo encompasses critically endangered lava rock forest centred on Withiel-Thomas Reserve. This puriri-dominant forest is one of the last few remnants of a unique ecosystem that was once common across Tāmaki Makaurau’s lava field. Much of what remains is on private land northwest of the maunga, around Almorah Road, Withiel Drive and Mountain Road. If you live in this area, please talk with the Urban Ark team and they'll’ll provide you with resources and support to help preserve the ecology of this unique landscape.

WELLBEING DAY OUT