NPDC’s efforts to create a greener district continues at pace with more than 50,000 plants being put in the ground every year.

The plantings are a key part of maintaining the district’s vision to be a sustainable lifestyle capital, says Manager Parks and Open Spaces Conrad Pattison.

“This work has a variety of benefits, from helping sand dunes withstand storms to education opportunities with school students,” he says.

“We use them to replace weed species or to make an area easier to maintain, or even just to make a public area prettier. We also revegetate sites with native plants to create habitats for native birds, insects and reptiles – often alongside riverbanks.”

Community involvement is an important part of the district-wide effort, with school students, iwi and the wider community involved in planting days at beaches and reserves.

“Between the public planting events we hold and the Council’s usual horticulture maintenance and improvements, the number of new plants across the district really adds up through the year.”

NPDC also runs the Planting Our Place programme, which aims to increase the percentage of urban area that’s covered in native vegetation to 10 per cent. Having more native plant coverage will help bring back native birdsong to our urban areas and make our place greener and healthier for our kids, as well as progressing NPDC’s efforts to meet emissions targets.

The next Planting Our Place event is at 10am on Sunday 9 June at Peringa Park, Fitzroy. See the event listing on our Facebook page for details.

Fast facts

• NPDC looks after 1,600ha of park and reserve land and 68 hectares of coastal dunes.
• Planting our Place is one of the big calls included in our 2021-2031 10-year Plan.
• our urban areas and make our place greener and healthier for our kids.
• Through its Te Korowai o Tāne funding, NPDC has $30,000 available every year to help community and not-for-profit groups with native planting.

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