Skip to main content
Auckland Council
Auckland Council
Auckland Council

myAUCKLAND
Flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle
 More For information on disruptions to our services and facilities see our facility closures page Learn moreFlooding and Cyclone Gabrielle

Te tiaki i ā tatou pākai papa tākaro ā Rehia

Caring for our park buffers

We need to protect our native plants and wildlife from one of the biggest threats in our region: weeds.

Managing park buffers

A park buffer is an area surrounding a park with restrictions on pest plants to protect parks with special ecological values.

To prevent the spread of pest plants into ecologically important parks, there is a 500m buffer area of selected pest plants.

The Regional Pest Management Plan sets objectives and rules about how we manage pests across Auckland.

If you live in a buffer zone, you are required to control these selected pest plants.

Diagram of a 500m buffer zone around a park.

Check if you are in a park buffer zone

Check on the map to find park buffers where the pest plant rules apply. For more information, see GeoMaps.

Why we need to control park buffer weeds

These pest plants:

  • can cause forest collapse by smothering native plants or preventing them from seeding
  • are spread by birds or wind
  • can establish in shade and mature native bush.

Find out more about pest plants

Click on the images below to find out more about each pest plant:

A spiny green bush with red berries.

Bushy asparagus

A green spiny plant with orange berries.

Climbing asparagus

Broad leaves with white flowers and a large green fruit.

Moth plant

Leather like glossy leaves with ants crawling over a bunch of small red berries.

Rhamnus

Flat long leaves with tall stems leading to yellow flowers.

Wild ginger

Hairy big leaves with a bunch of small green berries in the centre and a bluster of small purple flowers towards the left.

Woolly nightshade

Controlling other weeds

To find out how to control other weed species that may be a threat to the environment or to your garden, see:

Follow community projects that you can get involved in on the Auckland Biodiversity Facebook page.

 Related topics

 

 

Plant for your local ecosystemhttps://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/environment/plants-animals/plant-for-your-ecosystemPlant for your local ecosystemFind information on how to plant to suit your local ecosystem.aspxBiodiversity
Volunteer in our parkshttps://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/environment/what-you-can-do-for-environment/Pages/volunteer-in-our-parks.aspxVolunteer in our parksJoin community planting days or join a Friends of Parks group to volunteer in our parks.aspxVolunteering
How to dispose of weedshttps://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/environment/plants-animals/pests-weeds/Pages/how-to-dispose-weeds.aspxHow to dispose of weedsYou need to be careful when disposing of weeds. Check which transfer stations accept green waste or have a garden company collect the weeds you removed.aspxBiosecurity
Eradicating low incidence pest plantshttps://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/environment/what-we-do-to-help-environment/our-biodiversity-projects/Pages/eradicating-low-incidence-pest-plants.aspxEradicating low incidence pest plantsFind out how we are managing pest plants and how you can help. aspxEnvironment Biosecurity
Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP)https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/plans-projects-policies-reports-bylaws/our-plans-strategies/topic-based-plans-strategies/environmental-plans-strategies/Pages/regional-pest-management-plan.aspxRegional Pest Management Plan (RPMP)Information about Auckland Council's Regional Pest Management Plan, setting our priorities for managing animal and plant pests.aspxStrategies

Terms and conditionsPrivacy policySite map
© Auckland Council 2023
New Zealand Government