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The community planting day on June 7 saw more than 100 people plant over 3400 seedlings.
Mike Rowe from the Friends of Green Park said they were delighted to see so many people turn up from across Auckland to take part in the day. Throughout the day, volunteers went on guided walks through the park and enjoyed a free sausage sizzle.
A few days after the planting, 150 schoolchildren from Dairy Flat and Coatesville Schools planted an additional 1200 seedlings.
Auckland Council Volunteering and Programmes Team Manager, Trish Kirkland-Smith, said the plant species and location were chosen in line with the local board masterplan for the reserve and included manuka, kanuka, ti kouka, harakeke, matipo and karamu.
“These species fruit and set seed quickly, inviting bugs and birds to arrive, feed and grow the new habitat,” she says. The long term aim is to establish this area as a functional part of the ngahere (forest) ecosystem as it borders a large area of mitigation planting that council contractors did last year.”
Purchased by Rodney District Council in the mid-2000s, Green Road Park has been utilised by a small number of groups ever since, including Silverdale Pony Club and the North Shore Model Aero Club. The original intention was for it to be a key recreation destination for Rodney residents and the wider Auckland community.
In the short-term, the park is open to the community for walking, cycling and horse riding.
Originally it was part of a 200 hectare farm belonging to Jim and Ann Holdaway who owned the land for almost 40 years. Jim Holdaway was a regional council politician, conservationist and one of the founders of Auckland’s regional parks network, and is known for his efforts establishing the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.
The family sold a 39 hectare block of land to the former Rodney District Council in November 2000, and council later purchased an adjoining 115 hectares.
According to Jim Holdaway’s children, Jim always dreamed that the land he sold to council would be “for all people” and that it would be used for recreation, which has informed the park’s vision.
There will be another community planting next winter, and the Friends of Green Road have monthly working bees on the first Sunday of each month. Email green.road.park.supsociety@gmail.com for more details.
