The registered charity, which won the Taylor Community Pride Shield for its sustainable environmental work at the recent Keep Dunedin Beautiful Awards, has vastly expanded its efforts since it was founded in 2022 by local businessman Paul Southworth.
Now chairman of the Aroha Kaikorai Valley Trust, Mr Southworth said the work began soon after he bought the site at 381 Kaikorai Valley Rd for his Turboweb business, which had been empty for two years and was "overrun with rats and gorse".
"The Kaikorai Stream was just 10m away from the building and people had been dumping household rubbish there for years," he said.
"It was when we were cleaning that up that the seed of Aroha Kaikorai Valley was planted."
Founded with a focus on "plants, predators and water quality", the group started small, but has grown quickly to attract large groups of volunteers for community cleanup days and planting events.
Local residents are also hosting traps for possums and rats on their properties.
With support from the Otago Regional Council EcoFund, Dunedin City Council, City Sanctuary, and Predator Free Dunedin, the AKV group has distributed about 500 traps, catching more than 2000 pests so far, including possums, rats, hedgehogs, mice, stoats and other mustelids.
"We have also had great support from local businesses, including Dynes Transport supplying the shed that holds our traps and equipment, and ProSigns creating the signage for us," Mr Southworth said.
Turboweb provides office space for AKV and acts as its headquarters.
Along with the trapping programme, AKV monitors the quality of water in Kaikorai Stream, planted natives and has launched an air quality monitoring programme.
"It has been great to get local residents involved and to see such a mix of people of all ages coming out to our cleanup days," Mr Southworth said.
Caring for the vast Kaikorai Stream catchment, which covers 54sq km, is a huge task in an area which is home to a large community, with a mix of industrial and residential buildings as well as green spaces, he said.
To enlist the support of Kaikorai Valley businesses, AKV has created a Business+ pilot programme, to educate and encourage businesses with hands-on experience of local environmental action.
Set to be launched next year, the programme will focus on predator control, water quality, and practical steps businesses can take to reduce their impact on the stream.
The programme was developed by Dr Simon McMillan and will include a series of monthly three-hour sessions over four months, hosted at the Kaikorai Valley College Urban Farm.
It will include education on protecting waterways, biodiversity, pest control, along with a tour of the Kaikorai catchment and Mt Grand water treatment plant.
"Right from the start we’ve had a lot of support from local business and this is an opportunity to give back," Mr Southworth said.
"People will be impressed with what they learn about the stream and some of the great things already happening in the valley."
Mr Southworth said since founding AKV, he had realised there were thousands of people in the community keen to help with environmental projects, but were "waiting to be asked to do something".
"So that’s what we are doing with our programmes, and people are really getting behind it.
"People like to feel that are part of something and are making a difference," he said.
Mr Southworth also believed the AKV model could easily be adapted to make a difference in other communities around New Zealand.
"We can provide a template to help them set up and get going, and share insights into problems to avoid," he said.
Last weekend, he travelled up north to attend the launch of Aroha Cambridge, being established with support from AKV.
For more information about the AKV Business+ programme visit www.akv.nz
