Native planting restoration at Maungarei / Mt Wellington to begin

A two-year project to replace ageing pine trees with new native planting on the quarry face at Maungarei / Mt Wellington will start this month.

Around 100 pine trees will be removed from the quarry area at the southern side of the maunga over two years, making room for 10,000 native trees to be planted in their place.

The long-term aim is to establish a native bush ecosystem in the quarry area, reflective of what was original-ly present on the maunga. New natives will include kanuka, karo, māhoe, pōhutukawa and puriri.

Once the replanting has been completed, the quarry area will be one of the largest concentrated expanses of native bush in the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board area.

The project will be carefully staged to limit erosion risk on the steep slope. A portion of the pines will be removed in the coming weeks and the soil replanted during this winter. The remaining pines will be removed in late summer next year, with replanting completed in the weeks following.

All trees will be cut at the base or above, so there are no earthworks. No scheduled or protected trees will be removed.

While arborists are on site they will also remove several non-native trees at the tihi (summit) and will com-plete necessary maintenance in the Winifred Huggins memorial grove, removing dead trees and making it safer for visitors.

Paul Majurey, Chair of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority says the project is significant in that it not only increas-es the overall number of trees on the maunga but provides a potential future habitat for native birdlife while also restoring the mauri (spiritual essence) of the maunga.

“The Tūpuna Maunga Authority has made a commitment to enhancing the maunga in Auckland and this re-storative planting project is another significant step towards that,” says Majurey.

“Maungarei is one of the better-preserved Māori volcanic pā (fortified village) sites in the Auckland region. While the quarrying of the southern side has destroyed the archaeology there, this native planting pro-gramme and removal of exotic species will go some way toward restoring the authenticity and visual integri-ty of the maunga as an important indigenous landscape.”

“There is also a practical element. The pine trees we are removing are end of life and we are finding that in every major storm event we have trees falling at the quarry face and doing a lot of ground damage. Several pines fell in the big storm last month.”

Trees will be removed using a range of methods, including manual felling and helicopter lifts, depending on the size of the tree and its location on the maunga.

Helicopter work will only occur during 9am to 5pm weekdays, and the maunga will be closed to the public on days the helicopter is operating. Signage will be placed at entrance points.

Vegetation management on the maunga, including the proactive management of exotic trees and pest plants, and the restoration of indigenous flora and fauna, was signalled in the Tūpuna Maunga Integrated Management Plan which was publicly notified and the subject of a public submission and hearing process in 2016.

More information about the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, including the Tūpuna Maunga Integrated Management Plan, can be found at www.maunga.nz.

ENDS

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