‘Shouldn’t have to guard trees’
A hidden walking track in Cambridge has been ‘‘mindlessly vandalised’’ by a group of mountain bikers.
Trees have been cut down to make jumps, alcohol cans and rubbish have been left behind
The track, referred to as ‘‘Ann’s Patch’’ by the Cambridge Tree Trust, is a 15 minute walk from the bottom of Achilles Ave through to Gillies St.
Trust chairman Don Willoughby said he had no issues with bikers using the track and building dirt jumps, but cutting down trees to add to their obstacles had gone too far.
A hut had also been made from chopped branches.
‘‘It’s not publicly used much so people aren’t going down there regularly.
‘‘We don’t mind the bikers using it because it’s great that they’re getting outdoors and having fun, but they need to stop using the trees to make bike ramps,’’ he said.
The land was owned by the Waipa District Council but the trust had planted most of trees, which were more than 20 years old.
They named it Ann’s Patch after Dr Ann Pearson who was a doctor and avid tree planter.
‘‘The nation needs to plant one million trees a year to save the planet, and we’re doing our bit but it’s a bit distressing when people are chopping them.
‘‘We’re the town of trees, we should be planting them not tearing them down.’’
The damage was noticed about three weeks ago.
Willoughby said it wasn’t noticed due to its location.
‘‘We want more people to walk the track regularly, because if people are down there on a regular basis then there’s less of a chance of the damage occurring.’’
He could not say how much the trees would be worth.
‘‘We got them as seedlings, cultivated them, and grew them in our nursery.’’
‘‘I can’t give it a monetary value but they have huge environmental value.’’
Men from the corrections department had helped remove gorse and rubbish in the area while the trust planted the trees. He had notified police. ‘‘We can’t set up a patrol in the area though, that’s just ridiculous and we shouldn’t have to guard trees.
‘‘I just want the public to be aware so if they see any more damage they can let us know,’’ he said.