It’s heartening that there is growing public awareness that kauri dieback disease can be spread by spores hiding in the soil on people's shoes.
It’s also good to see that in most instances, there is a willingness to scrub footwear at the cleaning stations on the tracks near our precious and vulnerable kauri trees.
But let's face it, with the best will in the world, it is not easy to do a thorough scrub of the soles of your shoes while balanced on one foot.
To further complicate things, if your soles aren’t ‘kissably clean’ - then they're not clean enough.
Kauri dieback spores are hardy and tiny. A single spore can last for seven years in dry soil. It is so much easier and more effective to clean your footwear at a sink prior to leaving home.
Let's start spreading the message about cleaning at home (in a sink that drains into the sewer) before and after your walk, to reduce the chance of spreading the disease. Spread the word, not the disease.