News | 9 October 2017

We’re serving up pests as food for thought

As part of Conservation Week, we’ve teamed up with the Department of Conservation and Greater Wellington Regional Council to host another Pest Feast at the Harbourside Market.

Pest Feast kids with possum

Conservation Week is a week full of fun and inspiring activities aimed to educate and encourage everyone to get involved in conservation, and find out how they can help protect and enjoy the natural environment.

Pest Feast shines the light on some of our more troublesome wild foods in the Capital, so we’ll be serving up everything from goat tagine to wallaby wraps to wild fennel gelato on Sunday 15 and Sunday 22 October at the Harbourside Market near Waitangi Park.

Open Space and Parks Manager for Wellington City Council, Myfanwy Emeny, is really proud of the Wellington community for the hard work that has been put in so far to control pests in the city.

“We now have over 50 groups trapping pests in Wellington, and 20 waiting in the wings. Everyone is getting on board with Predator Free Wellington, and hundreds more Wellingtonians play their part in helping get rid of weeds. Events like Pest Feast are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate their work and give others the opportunity to literally get a taste for it,” she says.

Six of the regular market stall holders and some independent chefs have taken on the challenge to create wild food from invasive flora and fauna for Pest Feast. There’ll also be experts on hand to talk about pests, you can learn the best pest-trapping techniques, or ask our experts about invasive weeds, and see some of our pests up close.