Greater Wellington Regional Council

We are proud to be actively working towards becoming a more accessible regional council. Last year, we welcomed Be. Lab into our offices to assess our site's accessibility. Since then we have been making changes to become a more accessible workplace. This work would not have been possible without Josh, our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. Read the blog post below to hear what Josh and Be. Lab have to say about the process! https://lnkd.in/gusBbatt

You can’t beat our office views! Last week, our Pest Plants team were in East Harbour Regional Park on a mission to find and control climbing asparagus. Climbing asparagus is an exotic pest plant introduced to Aotearoa around 1970, originally from South Africa. The dense nature of the plant deprives native seedlings of light and prevents established native plants from growing. Example of climbing asparagus attached. Homai te pakipaki to our pest plants team for their mahi 👏👏

We're #hiring an Organisational Development Advisor to join our dedicated and friendly HR team in Wellington. This is a varied and busy role, leading our employee engagement efforts, managing our performance framework and annual recognition awards, and the onboarding experience for new starters. You'll also contribute to other OD and HR projects in our evolving OD team.

Today, we welcome the co-funding agreement to purchase 18 four-car trains and associated infrastructure for the lower North Island 🚆 This investment will lead to the doubling of peak time services on the Manawatū and Wairarapa rail lines from 2029, and better commuter connections between Wellington, Palmerston North and Masterton. It also signals our commitment to regional growth by making it easier to access work, education and recreation in urban centres. Parties to the deal are Greater Wellington and Horizons regional councils, the Government, the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail. Three suppliers have been short-listed, and we’ll request each company submit a proposal to design, build, and maintain the trains for 35 years. Read the full story ⬇ https://lnkd.in/gX3VD2GB

Last Friday, bright-eyed locals woke up early to support the Whakawhirinaki Silverstream Water Bridge as it was lifted into its new home 🌉 The new bridge is a double act: first, it’s a significant piece of Wellington’s water supply infrastructure, and second, a new walking and cycling track connecting to the Hutt River Trail. The Silverstream pipeline will carry 60 million litres of water a day as the key supplier for Upper Hutt, Stokes Valley, Porirua, and 40% of Wellington City’s water supply 💧 This is phase four of the project, and Wellington Water is on track to complete the work by mid-2025. Check out the stunning photos of the big lift below ⬇

The Wellington Regional Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway has just been released and sets out a bold pathway to a resilient, low-emissions future for our region. But it will not happen by itself – achieving this vision will need a collaborative effort across all levels of government There are two keyways you can help support us to achieve the pathway: 🔁 Share the Pathway with your networks. ✔️ Advocate for the changes we need and hold us accountable for the actions set out in the pathway. To read the full document, click the following link: https://lnkd.in/gujS6QQi Or to read the one-page summary, click the following link: https://lnkd.in/gM48zRNe

As part of our winter planting programme, we love welcoming tamariki into our regional parks to help plant the seeds for their future 🌱 🌏 This planting is part of our Recloaking Papatūānuku programme, the heart and soul of our restoration efforts on regional park land. By making this commitment, we are working to restore the region's native ecosystems for the very tamariki who helped dig the holes and plant the trees. 🌳 Korokoro School took on our planting challenge and planted 500 trees near Hill Road on the Hutt Valley side of Belmont Regional Park. The photos below highlight their effort.

We call it sowing the seeds for the future 🌱🌏 To celebrate Matariki, we headed to Belmont Regional Park with spades in our hands, gumboots on our feet, and the spirit of Matariki in our hearts. We joined Porirua City Council, alongside Ngahere Korowai, and volunteers from the wider community to plant native trees as an acknowledgment for new life and new beginnings. 3,100 trees were planted, making their small dent in the 250,000 planned for the park. As with all planting days, we celebrated with a bit of kai, laughs, and connection. Check out some of the photos below 👀⬇

We are proud to have played a small part in Zealandia Ecosanctuary's ecological efforts to create a freshwater sanctuary 🍃 139 toitoi were translocated from Kohangapiripiri Lake in East Harbour Regional Park to Zealandia via a whakaweku, a mātauranga Māori method. While this is the second translocation completed, it's the first to incorporate the innovative whakaweku method. 🐟 Whakaweku are bundles of rārahu/bracken fern that are submerged in water for a few weeks. The bundles act as a habitat for bottom-dwelling fish, insects, and crayfish, which move in but also have the freedom to come and go as they please, a gentle and less stressful method of catching them. We are proud to have shared this with Zealandia, our partners at Taranaki Whānui and the team at Hem of Remutaka. 📷 Photo credit to Zealandia.

Going to bat for the short-tailed bat 🦇 Kāpiti tamariki from the Enviroschools programme got an inside look into the unique relationship between the Pekapeka tou poto (New Zealand short-tailed bat) and the Pua o Te Reinga (Wood Rose). Both species are endangered and require each other to thrive. The short-tailed bat feeds on the plant's nectar, which in turn then pollinates the plant. The Tamariki were told their story through a lively puppet show and a guided walk through the old forest at Ngā Manu Nature Reserve in Waikanae. The event emphasised the value of place-based learning and a locally developed curriculum incorporating mātauranga Māori, hosting the event during the Whiro moon phase and utilising taonga pūoro (musical instruments). A core value of the Enviroschools programme is to foster a connection between tamariki and te taio. 🦇 The endangered lesser short-tailed bat is an ancient species unique to New Zealand and is found only in a few locations. 🌱 Pekapeka tou poto is currently regarded as being Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable and is a priority threatened species for the Department of Conservation. You can read more below ⬇ https://lnkd.in/g2FA4Bca