Native plants arrive to offset highway work
Construction efforts on the Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū-Tararua Highway have shifted focus from earth-moving to planting for the winter months.
More than 570,000 plants will go in the ground over the next few months as part of the project’s ecological offset programme.
Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency owner interface manager Grant Kauri said it was the second planting season for the project, which would eventually see more than 2 million locally-sourced natives planted. ‘‘This is a key part of our commitment to leaving the environment surrounding the highway in a better condition than we found it,’’ he said.
Kauri said the planting teams had already done a lot of work preparing the plants in nurseries ahead of their delivery to the site.
He said while the drier summer months were ideal for the earthmoving needed to create the highway, the opposite was true when it came to planting.
Rain loosened the earth, making it easier to get the plants in the ground, and provided better conditions for the young plants to grow.
As well as planting alongside the highway, natives would also be planted at five additional locations throughout the region.
Some of them were difficult to access, so teams would be heading in on foot, with the plants flown in by helicopter. ‘‘The timing of the season also means they are often working in challenging weather conditions, so we are extremely lucky to have a team who are incredibly dedicated and passionate about what they do,’’ Kauri said.
Many of the sites had needed a lot of preparation work to trim back overgrown vegetation, install fencing, and carry out pest control.
One of the sites involved was Parahaki Island in the Manawatū
River.
That had involved working with the island’s trustees, including Rob Karaitiana and Jean Te Huia on the project. The trust was planting an additional 40,000 harakeke flax on the island.