By Selwyn Yorke, Chair, Green Corridors.

It has been a very successful year for Green Corridors Palmerston North Range to River. Every eco-sourced plant available to us from the nursery was planted out this year. The weather worked in our favour and we had plentiful support from several business groups ensuring that we got all of the native plants into the ground. We have also planted a wide variety to ensure that there will be suitable seasonal food for the native birds when the plants mature. With the new plantings the shape of the new route for the Te Araroa walkway alongside the Turitea Stream is taking place.

We wish to make a special thanks to Ricoh Office Products and Services, whose team not only helped plant hundreds of seedlings, but also provided a cash donation to Green Corridors and refreshments for all of the hard working (about 70) public volunteers on the day. Other teams that helped ensure we reached our annual quota include the ANZ and Fonterra. We have several organisations lining up to help us next year and we would welcome more.

We planted about 10,000 substantive plants this year covering 31 species from wetland type plants including flax, native grasses, fast growers like manuka and lemonwood to provide early period shelter and micro climate for the slower more sensitive species like some shrubs and the podocarps.

Next year is a bigger target of up to 12,000 plants.

We also managed extensive weed control and this is becoming a more significant task for us to ensure our beloved native plants can thrive until they are large enough to “take over”. One persistent pest plant is Tradescantia, which several of our team are working to remove to enable the young native plants to grow.

We have had excellent ongoing support from the Palmerston North City Council and we have seen our funding increase, which is a great challenge for us to ensure delivery.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge Eddie Welsh and Starter Plants for their contribution to Green Corridors over the past 17 years. Starter Plants’ expertise in eco-sourcing has been invaluable to our project.

Click this link for more information about Green Corridors and how you can be involved.