Media Release: Wednesday, 3 June 2009
(Note: venue/event details follow the media release)

Arbor Day makeover for Ian Galloway Park

Around 2,500 native plants, including 500 northern rata, will be planted in and around Ian Galloway Park, near Wilton (Wellington), in recognition of Arbor Day and World Environment Day this Friday (5 June).

Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage the Hon. Chris Finlayson, and Department of Conservation Director-General Al Morrison will join hundreds of local school children and Project Crimson, Meridian Energy, Starfish and Wellington City Council staff, as they plant these important native species.

“It is really exciting and encouraging to see Project Crimson, Meridian and the Wellington City Council working in partnership to benefit the local environment and community,” says Meridian Chief Executive Tim Lusk, “and most importantly seeing young Wellingtonians getting involved too.”

Project Crimson is driving the initiative with its partners Meridian and the Council. The Project Crimson Trust works to protect and restore native pohutukawa and rata all over New Zealand.

Ian Galloway Park, once a landfill, is now a major sports-field owned and maintained by Wellington City Council.

Mayor Prendergast says hundreds of volunteers have done a fantastic job over the past seven years restoring different sections of the Kaiwharawhara Stream catchment.

"With Karori Sanctuary a kilometre upstream and Otari-Wilton's Bush a kilometre downstream, Ian Galloway Park is a crucial link in the restoration of the catchment," she says. "This planting will provide another important area of bush, helping to improve the environment and sustain the city's growing number of native birds."

Project Crimson’s Bridget Abernethy says: “We are delighted northern rata has made such a comeback in Wellington and we are grateful the partnership between Wellington City Council, Project Crimson and Meridian has enabled this to happen. Northern rata is indigenous to Wellington and deserves a position in our natural landscapes.”

A number of Wellington community groups are also planting northern rata in critical ecological areas, with support from Project Crimson and its partners.

“Rata and pohutukawa were threatened in New Zealand as recently as 1990,” added Ms Abernethy.

“While that decline has been halted by the work Project Crimson has done over the past 18 years, there is still much to do, including educating people and encouraging restoration projects to protect rata and pohutukawa.”

The northern rata seedlings being planted in Ian Galloway Park are eco-sourced and have been grown by Wellington City Council’s Berhampore Nursery. The nursery each year grows more than 90,000 native plants and trees that council staff and volunteers plant around the city.

The seedlings being planted on Friday are around 60cm tall but in time they can be expected to grow to more than 20 metres high.

It will take around five years before the trees begin to flower and another 10 years before they become well established.

Meridian Chief Executive Tim Lusk says: “The work that Project Crimson does is invaluable and the results of its effort with this project will have long-lasting benefits for all Wellingtonians to enjoy.

“What could be more appropriate for us as a company with a strong base in the city, than getting together with our partners to help ensure these iconic native trees flourish in the heart of our capital,” he concluded.

Venue details for media:
Venue: Ian Galloway Park, Wilton, Wellington.
Timing: Optimal time to experience planting, including the opportunity to talk briefly with the mayor and Project Crimson and watch/join in the planting: 10.30-11.30am, Friday 5 June.

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About Ian Galloway Park

Ian Galloway Park was developed on the site of a former landfill. It used to be known as the Wilton or Western Tip and operated from 1946 until 1973.

Today it is an important Wellington City sports park. The five sportsfields are predominantly used for rugby in winter. In summer it is used for cricket, children’s summer league soccer and softball. It also has a BMX track and dog exercise area.

The park helps create a corridor of native trees and bush, which will in turn encourage bird life. Both the Karori Sanctuary, a kilometre to the south and Otari-Wilton’s Bush, a kilometre to the north, have northern rata in their forests. The planting will also help revegetate another section of the Kaiwharawhara Stream catchment.

Project Kaiwharawhara, an urban community catchment restoration project, began seven years ago and is a joint initiative by Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and local environmental community groups. The aim of the Kaiwharawhara Project is to protect and enhance the natural landscape and its ecosystems, improving habitat for native plants, birds and fish.

Volunteers from around the city have worked hard to clean up and plant the Kaiwharawhara streamside, which runs from Karori Sanctuary, through Otari and down Ngaio Gorge to the sea between Spotlight and Beaurepaires.

Extensive planting by volunteer groups has also occurred in a number of other spots in the catchment including Trelissick Park, Blackbridge Road and School Road, Bells Track and on railway land at two sites along the Korimako Stream.

Community groups involved with Project Kaiwharawhara include:
Otari-Wilton’s Bush Trust, Albemarle Stream Care Group, Trelissick Park Group, Makererua Street Group, Bell’s Track Group and Ngaio Progressive Association.

ENDS

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