Q&A with Willy Muir

Willy Muir is the chair of Awaroa Ki Karioitahi Landcare and talks to Helena O’Neill about what the community group is all about.

So what does Awaroa Ki Karioitahi Landcare do?

We’re a group set up for the benefit and betterment of the environment in the community. But we also work with our neighbours or other groups who have similar interests. By having an official group, we can help the community by going back to governing bodies and support groups and unlocking that funding that has been missing for so long.

What area do you cover?

Karioitahi, Whiriwhiri, Maioro, Otaua and Aka Aka. We’re in the Lower Waikato North rateable zone. It’s a tricky area because we’re so far north away from the main council areas. We’re dealing with the Waikato Regional Council and the Waikato District Council as our local government.

Boundary-wise, it’s quite complicated, and this area often misses out on resources.

How long has the group been around for?

Officially, about a year. But we spent a good three years or so working toward the creation of Awaroa Ki Karioitahi Landcare. But we’ve been an incorporated society for about a year.

What regular things do you run?

We’ve been running hub days alongside Pest Free Whiriwhiri every first and third Friday of the month at Otaua Bowling Club. We’ve taken a break for the holidays, but check out our Facebook page for the next events.

What are some of the projects you’ve been working on?

We’ve been working hard to create a native forest and wetland area behind the back field of Otaua School. Our volunteers pulled out tyres, concrete, general rubbish, wire, posts, stumps and pampas from the waste area. We’ve cleared and fenced the area and are planting natives there.

We still have a way to go, but it’s looking so much better already.

You held a mental health event with Shane Cameron last year, how did that go?

We worked with the Waikato Rural Support Trust on that event and had about 270 people attend Mental Health, Mental Wealth – An Evening with Shane Cameron back in August. It was held at Aka Aka Hall, and we were well-supported by other groups like the local rapid response team.

It’s an example of how wide the scope is of what we’re doing. Yes, we’re a landcare group, but we’re here to facilitate our community and part of that is working with other groups to help provide what our community needs.

We don’t want to interfere with the sovereignty of other groups, but we do want to work together for our community. We have good relations with local iwi from the very beginning, too.

What’s next for Awaroa Ki Karioitahi Landcare?

We’ll be doing a lot of education and building on what we’ve done over the past year. We will do more biodiversity days too.

How can people learn more about the group?

Come along to our hub days, education events, and social events. We held an end-of-year event for the community in December, and it went really well. We no longer have a tavern here, which used to be a social hub, so we’re keen to help people get to know others in their local community, to reconnect with people.

We’re always looking for volunteers, people who want to be a part of what we’re doing.
The regular hub days are a great place to start.