Thanks to generous donations by members of the Leigh Harbour Valley Society, we were able to engage the services of a team of abseiler/contractors to remove wilding pines from the Leigh Scenic Reserve coastal walkway. This area is Department of Conservation land and they provided us with consent to remove the wilding pines that were less than 3M tall.

Unfortunately our joint application with the Leigh Community Club for funding to remove the larger wilding pines was unsuccessful. These pines pose a health and safety issue, particularly those on the unstable cliff edges. The larger trees will also continue to disperse seeds onto the coastal walkway, creating an ongoing battle. The two main species present are Pinus Pinaster and Pinus Radiata.

We will continue to investigate funding avenues to get rid of these pines.

Kathryn Erikson