Community heroes in conservation: John Curran

John Curran is all about weed control and preparing the capital’s parks and reserves for restoration planting.

John is just one of Wellington City Council’s many staff, who is passionate about enhancing the city’s native wildlife. He is part of the Parks, Sport and Recreation team, which is kaitiaki to Wellington’s parks and reserves and works to promote wellness among Wellingtonians through recreation and the outdoors.

John is the Council’s Team Manager Operational Projects. For almost 20 years, John has been working in site preparation and aftercare for the restoration planting programme.

He and his dedicated crew look after the restoration sites, managing weeds with both spraying and hand-releasing methods. There has been a big shift over the years for less chemicals and more hands-on control. This has led to better site preparation techniques and more instances where weedy areas are converted to grass before planting.

“While I grew up in the outdoors, I never planned on getting into this field or making a career of it. I started with PSR about 19 years ago by accident,” John says.

“A manager I knew at the time asked if I wanted a job as I had just returned from overseas – it was good timing as I was broke. The job just so happened to be in the weed control team at our Parks Operational Depot and was responsible for much of the maintenance of restoration sites.

“As soon as I started I knew it was the job for me. I enjoyed the outdoor work, the variety, and the physical side of weed control and preparing planting sites.

“Over the years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the regeneration of these areas around Wellington and the input from staff, community, and so many others.”

Ways to get involved in conservation in your community

• You can start by planting some natives! Check out our two informative Wellington-focused planting booklets, which can be found at wellington.govt.nz/planting-guides

• To get involved with a community group near you, visit pfw.org.nz/get-involved/ for a list of backyard groups, Council's environmental community groups webpage, and DOC's webpage listing its conservation groups in Wellington/Kapiti.

• For more ideas about what you can do for the environment, visit wellington.govt.nz/environmentandyou

• Visit the DOC website to find out more about Conservation Week/Te Wiki Tiaki Ao Tūroa