This month we farewell Kate Loman-Smith as she moves on to new horizons. Kate joined Katikati Taiao in 2018 and has made significant contributions as a committee member during her tenure with us, notably her participation on Whirihia te ara ki mua CLD group and leading the ‘Re-Naturing Katikati Taiao’ – creating a culture of caring. Kate’s new focus will be to see the development of an Environment Leader role within the Re-Naturing Katikati Taiao project in collaboration with other stakeholders and volunteers, and she plans to keep busy with her involvement in Te Puna I’Anson Bush Reserve and “Treasuring our place” at the local primary school. We thank Kate for her time and contribution to Katikati Taiao Trust and wish her all the best.

Re-Naturing Katikati Taiao is a community-led project which is taking action to restore the Uretara Riverbanks through Haiku Park in Katikati. In 2018 a restoration plan was written, and we are working on the ground to implement it. This involves removing exotic weeds and planting native plants. We also undertake rat control to protect native animals and grow native plants for use in our project.  We are a fun and social group and we are learning by doing. This year we planted 1300 native plants and removed thousands of invasive weeds. If you want to know more contact Kate on katelomansmith@gmail.com or head along to the Facebook Group “Re-Naturing Katikati Taiao, creating a culture of caring”