Spring TLC for city lawns

Spring is almost here – and it’s time for Wellington City Council’s lawn renovations programme to get rolling.

A number of the city’s most popular parks and lawns will be given a springtime tune-up from late August to October. This is in preparation for the busy, event-filled and hopefully sunny summer months ahead, when they’ll get a lot of usage from Wellingtonians and visitors alike.

Some of the central city’s busiest lawns – including Midland Park and Glover Park – will be fenced-off for up to 30 days to let nature do its work and allow the new grass to germinate and grow ready for the areas to be used again. Dog exercise areas, which are also well utilised, need this time to be renovated to recover from the heavy winter use. We want to ensure that these areas can still be used – but there will be some restrictions.

The Council’s Mowing Team Manager, Matt Beres, says various procedures will be carried out. These include topdressing, weed control, drainage work, fertilising, and sowing with new grass seed.

As part of the renovations, the Council is experimenting with a hybrid turf at two sites. It is an artificial turf that also allows real grass to grow through.

Matt says the Council’s sportsfields team has successfully trialled a section in one of the goalmouths at Seatoun Park. The hybrid turf will be laid on one lawn at Midland Park and on a section of the Cog Park dog exercise area.

Here’s the list of lawns getting a makeover:
• Glover Park (to be partially fenced off for up to 4-5 weeks)
• Midland Park (to be fenced off for up to 4-5 weeks)
• Cobblestone Park
• Railway Station lawns
• Magyar Millennium Park, corner of Molesworth and Hawkestone streets (partially fenced off for up to 4-5 weeks)
• Civic Centre, including Jack Ilott Green
• Katherine Mansfield Park, Hobson St
• Waititi Lawn (outside Parliament, corner of Lambton Quay and Molesworth Street)
• Cog Park dog exercise area
• Kent and Cambridge Terraces
• Freyberg Pool lawns.

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