January 26, 2021
Nappies and tyres taint Te Toto garden site
The Department of Conservation wants visitors to blow the whistle on people dumping rubbish on a culturally significant site just south of Raglan.
Te Toto is an amphitheatre-shaped gorge overlooking the Tasman Sea on the south western slopes of Te Maunga o Karioi west of Pirongia Forest Park.
Waikato district biodiversity and recreation/historic supervisor Glyn Morgan says it was once the site of Māori gardens and is important to mana whenua.
He says a joint operation with Waikato Regional Council removed a large amount of waste, including used nappies, bags of household waste, construction materials, and 180 old tyres.
He says clean-ups take staff away from core conservation work and divert our resources from protecting threatened species.
He says registration numbers, vehicle descriptions and photographs called in to the hotline, 0800 DOC HOT, can be used to track down dumpers.
Copyright © 2021, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com