Working bee puts 3000 native plants into Charlesworth
A combined effort recently by the public and people from the Ferrymead/Brookhaven Residents’ Association, the Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust, Council Park Rangers and other Council staff in association with Trees For Canterbury resulted in about 3000 native coastal plants being successfully planted at Charlesworth Reserve, just west of Humphreys Drive at Ferrymead.
About 100 people got stuck in to push the reserve’s development, establishing “windows” of tussocks and low-growing plants that will allow vistas down into the wetland reserve from the elevated main track. Between these windows, taller-growing plants like ngaio and akeake will screen the walkway, allowing birds to feed and nest without disturbance.
“The work being done there is important in helping to reestablish features of estuary-edge ecosystems such as saltmeadow, saltmarsh and coastal bush that are now either very rare around the estuary or non-existent,” says Council Coastal Parks Ranger Scott Butcher.
Work at the 20ha reserve in the next two to three years will include large-scale planting of coastal bush, new culverts under the road to allow better tidal flow from the estuary, the development of walking tracks and bridges, new signage and continuing predator trapping.
Ranger Andrew Crossland says that although it is less than two years old, the wetland already supports many bird species, including nesting pied stilts, spurwinged plover, several species of gull, paradise shelduck, mallards, NZ shoveler, kingfisher and pukeko. Once the plantings develop, it is expected that birds like bellbirds and kereru will visit the site. |
