• Jo and Grant Knight in the outdoors in Fiordland.

Conserving Kaipātiki’s character

My Shore Life: Jo Knight

Jo Knight is chair of Pest Free Kaipātiki Restoration Society and lives in coastal Beach Haven surrounded by bush and “just a skip from the sea”. She answers a few questions from Christine Young, about her passion for the suburb, and the environment.

Christine Young: What do you most love about living in Beach Haven and how long have you lived there?

Jo Knight: We have lived here for more than 40 years, off and on, because we can’t find a better place to be. We have bush, a beach and birds and a neighbourhood where we have sung together, kayaked together, walked dogs together, barbequed together and laughed and cried together.

We are really lucky that we have 33% forest cover in Kaipātiki – I think this is because we live in the hilly part of the world and the gullies and creek-beds were too steep and too wet to build on. I love the green, the sea, the quiet and the birds lining up in the kanuka to sun themselves on a cold winter morning.

CY: What activities or organisations are you involved in? Why are you passionate about these?

JK: I spend most of my time involved in Pest Free Kaipātiki Restoration Society. We are a young organisation helping community groups look after their local reserves. (I think we have about 170 reserves in Kaipātiki.) We concentrate on removing weeds and pests (think rats and moth plant) and in asking people to protect the precious kauri reserves that we have here. I think we have a real chance here to save our kauri and enhance our native biodiversity. Kaka are around, there is a report of a falcon and I am waiting for bellbirds, bats and tom-tits.

CY: What other activities are you involved in or what else might you be involved with if you had time?

JK: I do travel a bit, which I really love, mostly to see other animals and birds. Since I have stopped working recently, I have recently indulged in photography, (yes, mostly birds!) which is a new hobby really.

CY: Do you have a favourite local event you look forward to each year?

JK: I am really looking forward to seeing our Pest Free Kaipātiki Citizen Science event roll out for the first time and I am hoping we can have a photography challenge with a difference for all to join in. This could involve a photo of a new or rare species in Kaipātiki such as falcons, bellbirds, bats, insects or tomtits. We would not be looking for a photograph of great clarity and quality necessarily, but as proof of existence of the species in our area. The box brownie or cell phone photo will do! High fives to the first photos proving they are here!!! I’m looking for prizes.

I’d really like families to get involved in doing just a little, such as tree planting or helping restore a wetland.

CY: If you could change one aspect of your suburb what would it be?

JK: I would like to preserve our 32% cover of bush, and have a community organisation looking after every local reserve. I just hate it when chain saws start.

CY: Who would you most like to have as a neighbour, and why?

JK: My neighbour Annette is just fine with me. That is if I can’t change her for David Attenbourgh.