The hunt was on in West Auckland as Weedfree Waitakere’s annual War on Weeds project kicked off for 2007. The target: nine nasties - ginger, blue morning glory, Japanese honey suckle, climbing asparagus, jasmine, moth plant, plectranthus, smilax, and tradescantia.

The event, which runs during March and April each year in partnership with Keep Waitakere Beautiful Trust and Waitakere City Council, calls on Waitakere residents to get rid of their environmental weeds in big jumbo bins around the city.

At one event, Weedfree Waitakere’s Neil Henderson called on the help of children from Royal Road School, Woody Weed and a person who looked remarkably like Elvis at the Waitakere Refuse, Recycling and Transfer Station, to get the low-down on just how bad the weed problem is.

“Woody Weed is such a fun graphic way to get through to children and the adults got the message too when the chap looking like Elvis broke into song, reeling off some classic gardening numbers like ‘Clean Up Your Own Back Yard’ and ‘The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind’.

“He also did a version of ‘Love Me Tender’ that could have shrivelled the thickest ginger root,” Neil says.

War on Weeds is a great opportunity for Waitakere weedbusters to make the most of the fine weather, stockpiling their weeds and getting them to the bins during March and April. Last year nearly 125 tonnes of weeds were collected in the jumbo bins.

As part of it’s commitment to help protect Waitakere’s native bush from weeds, the Weedfree Waitakere Trust works closely with local and regional councils, helping landowners develop management plans to win the weed war.

Coordinator Neil Henderson also spends time at schools throughout the Waitakere City area, educating students about problem weeds and how to eradicate them.

For more information on Waitakere’s annual War on Weeds and other weedfree initiatives in this area of Auckland, check out www.weedfree.org.nz.