Name of contact person: Coordinator: Adele Smaill
Email address: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
Telephone number: 021-2016625
Preferred method of contact: Email
Location of main site: Western Cooks Beach dunes, Mercury Bay South, Coromandel Peninsula.
Date started: July 2010
Purpose of group: Our aim is to restore the dunes to good health by eradicating invasive weeds and supporting naturally occurring native plants. This protects the dunes and helps repair storm damage, also supporting native birds, including the NZ Dotterel, lizards and insects. See website: www.cooksbeachcare.org.nz for full description and events.
About the group: We are a hard-working and practical group committed to the survival of our beautiful and fragile beach. We meet every week most of the year to do litter collection, hands-on weed control, planting and enjoy a good yarn. With the predictions of climate change meaning more severe and frequent storms we observe that our efforts are essential. Also an increasing holiday population places extreme pressure on our area over summer. Education of these often short-term visitors is a real challenge and needs to be coupled with physical guides as to how to best access and enjoy the shoreline. We are finding that once advised, the majority of the adjacent property owners now recognize the vital role the dunes play in protecting their assets, and vital public infrastructure. They are only too happy to help if kept well informed and involved. Our partnership with the statutory agencies charged with responsibility of this area is essential to our success.