Park volunteering
Introduction
| Park care events | Corporate park care
| Park care projects
| Additional information
  |
| Children planting a tree (left) and volunteers introducing bird boxes to attract birdlife |
|
Introduction
Auckland Council recognises and values the contribution of volunteer work in our parks. Volunteers help create a vibrant, attractive and
ecologically rich network of parks by assisting with tasks such as tree planting, litter removal, animal pest control and monitoring, rose pruning,
mulching, plant care, bush track maintenance, plant propagation, seed collection and wildlife surveying.
Get involved - register as a park volunteer
Individual and community group registration
Auckland Council supports registered community groups and individuals with voluntary work, and keeps a record of the work completed.
Please
email the Parks volunteer and biodiversity coordinator, central area if you or your community group wish to help out in the council's parks and reserves.
Corporate registration
Auckland Council organises annual one-off corporate park care activities.
Long-term involvement is managed by Conservation Volunteer New Zealand on
behalf of the council. Conservation Volunteers New Zealand specialise in supervising corporate groups,
and preparing a calendar of activities for them - see
Corporate park care for more information.
The role of park volunteers
Auckland Council encourages local people to care for their local parks. The more people who care for our parks, the more attractive and diverse our
parks will be for people and wildlife.
For volunteers to successfully contribute to our parks, it is important to understand the role of volunteers in parks. The council
does not permit volunteers to undertake work that would normally be completed by paid contractors. Rather, volunteers carry out tasks outside the
scope of contract work (eg intensive animal pest control in natural bush areas). Because contractors and volunteers work in parks, it is important
to inform the council about any proposed work. This will reduce the chance of damage caused by contractors to volunteer work sites (eg weedeating
newly planted trees), and ensure the work complies with the council's health and safety policies and procedures. The table below provides a guide
to the type of voluntary work permitted in our parks.
| Common volunteer tasks |
Description |
| Tree planting |
- native and exotic species for re-vegetation and heritage projects
|
| Inorganic rubbish removal |
- collect non-hazardous inorganic rubbish from creeks, parks and beaches
|
| Animal pest control |
- set, check and monitor kill traps for possums and rodents
- set, check and monitor poison traps
- survey animal pests
|
| Ecological surveys |
- surveys or fauna, flora and people
|
| Gardening |
- plant, irrigate and weed shrubberies and community gardens
- work with compost and soil material
|
| Gravestone restoration |
- remove graffiti and general maintenance of gravestones
|
| Mulching |
- spread mulch around newly planted areas to promote plant health (eg reduce soil water loss, promote soil bacterial growth, suppress weeds)
|
| Protection of volcanic cones and archaeological sites |
- re-vegetation of volcanic features under onsite direction from a council approved specialist
- manage weeds using non-chemical and minimal soil disturbance methods only
- track maintenance (as below)
|
| Track maintenance |
- lay gravel for tracks
- repair walking track structures (eg drainage piping) under onsite direction from a
council approved track specialist
- construct bush walking tracks under onsite direction from a council approved track specialist
|
| Weed management |
- non-chemical methods to clear weeds from around newly planted trees, or prepare sites
- chemical methods. Note: applicator must have proof of Growsafe Certification
|
Updated January 2011
