Hamilton City Council kicks off Nature in the City project to restore native vegetation

Hamilton East MP Jamie Strange with his son Brooklyn and Hamilton-based list MP David Bennett help with the planting at Donny Park. Photo / Jamie Strange MP

Hamilton City Council's ambitious 30-year goal to restore Hamilton's native vegetation cover from 2 per cent to 10 per cent just came closer as the Nature in the City project kicked off in Donny Park / Kukutāruhe Gully last week.

Restoring native vegetation is important to ensure thriving biodiversity to build Hamilton's resilience to climate change, the council says.

Nature in the City programme manager Matt Vare says it was critical the council planted the right species for the area, and consider the whole ecosystem when doing restorative planting.

"We eco-source all our seeds ... [which] means we collect seeds from mature trees across Hamilton, nurture them in our nurseries, and then plant them out again as seedlings. So, we're making sure that the plants are adapted to our specific climate and giving nature a helping hand."

He says the programme also recognises the importance of green spaces for people's wellbeing.

"We want to make sure every Hamiltonian can go out and connect with nature somewhere close to home. Part of the restoration work in Donny Park will include creating new pathways for people to explore."

Local hapū Ngāti Wairere is a key partner in the five-year restoration project of the gully, supporting the council by providing guidance and mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge).

The 30-year Nature in the City programme kicked off last week, with the first restoring project Donny Park / Kukutaaruhe Gully. Photo / Supplied

The name of the gully, Kukutāruhe, depicts the flight of the kuku otherwise known as the kereru, kukupa or native wood pigeon. It reflects not only the observation of the kuku's flight but also the hapū mātauranga knowledge of seasons, migration patterns, native fauna and flora patterns, the river and stream ecology as well as weather movement.

The kōrero from Ngāti Wairere says the combination of all this mātauranga provided the opportunity to plan, forecast and execute a management strategy taking into account hapū and community needs, ecological sustainability, shared resources and successive generations.

Deputy chair of the Environment Committee Sarah Thomson says the council was thrilled to kick off the Nature in the City programme.

"I want to acknowledge that while this event marks the start of our restoration project, this is not the first piece of restoration work in Kukutāruhe Gully. There have been some fantastic community planting initiatives in the gully already, including some amazing mahi by the Fairfield Project."