Take action: Plastic in the cemeteries

In 2019, our Bicultural Engagement Lead Ranger Terese McLeod (Taranaki Whānui) was carrying out a rubbish audit in the Kaiwharawhara stream. She noticed that a lot of the rubbish being collected consisted of plastic flowers blown off graves from the nearby cemetery. Since then, Terese has helped enable plastic reduction in cemeteries, including Mākara urupā which is now plastic-free.

Want to know some alternative options to plastic when it comes to what we can share with those we visit in cemeteries?  

You can bring something that isn’t physical but is still a gift from you, like reading a poem, singing a song, or doing a karakia. 

If you want to bring something physical some options are: 

• Fresh flowers, either whole or petal confetti

• Dried fallen leaves confetti: you can cut shapes out of these to make it a fun activity for the family to get involved in

• Small stones: you can also paint stones to make them more personal

• Metal garden art: there are some small pieces which look great, are modestly priced and long-lasting and blend unobtrusively in with the colours of nature.

Listen to Terese talk about her journey on YouTube or read more about it in the Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara Sanctuary to Sea exhibition on the ground floor of the Visitor Centre.