A Biodiversity Corridor

to link the Hunua Ranges via the Redoubt/Mill Road ridge to the

Waitakeres

The Auckland Super-city cuts-off Northland from the rest of the North Island.

Industrial infilling across the isthmus

Northland is already an island!No other city in the world

strangulates its national territory into two segments and this biological fact means that the number of species in the north will progressively decline in respect to those in the south.

This is a problem.

What to do?

Link together the green-spaces to the north & south of the city with a

biodiversity corridor

Just what is a “Biodiversity Corridor” anyway?

A Biodiversity Corridor is a continuous strip of land

assigned to support wildlife throughout a region in a city

context

The corridor should be continuous, ideally roads would have to go under it. What is this? Unthinkable you say well, in the meantime a metropolitan biodiversity corridor will have to be constructed in contiguous sections (stepping-stones). Better than nothing.

But Redoubt Ridge is a critical necessity for such a corridorWhy? Because in all of South-Auckland even from as far north as the Harbour Bridge, this ridge is the nearest centre of ecologically-active & expanding native-bush that can be used in our reach toward the Waitakeres.

Actual bush-cover in southern margin parks

Around the edge of the built-up areas there are relatively few stands of bush. Starting from Redoubt Ridge:

Marginal bush intrusion & replanting exists in some additional stream-bed reserves. Four Hunua foot-hill parks in Papakura are not tallied.

Moving North: Moving South:

Murphy’s Bush 13 ha Totara Park itself 45 ha

Point View Reserve 27 ha Totara Park West face (Goodwood Heights, 15 small reserves) 13.7 ha

Kennedy Drive Res. 2.5 ha Manurewa (5 reserves) 11.6 ha

Chisbury Terrace Res. 5 ha Herkt’s Bush 0.5 ha

Murvale Reserve 3 ha Kirk's Bush 6 ha

McLeans Park 10 ha

THE PROSPECT OF PENETRATING THE CITY WITH A CORRIDOR OF TREED SPACE THAT WOULD ATTRACT HABITATION BY KERERU THROUGHOUT APPEARS TO BE DAUNTING

This is particularly the case when it becomes apparent that the pivot-

point for such a corridor, the biodiversity rich Redoubt Ridge

system to the south of the city, is about to be shattered by a multi-lane

super-expressway running smack through the remnants of the ancient

bush.

It is a BIG ASK butIT CAN BE DONE!

But:UNRESTRAINED

INTRUSIVEROADWORKSMUST STOP !

Close to 100 properties will be directly affected on Redoubt Road, Everglade and Holyford Drives alone. This will increase to over three hundred when both Murphy’s Road and Mill Rd

to Alfriston are counted. This is the beginning of a huge project eventually extending down to Drury.

The property at 242 Redoubt Rd, west end of the ridge, will be wiped-out completely. It has a rich, unique bio-structure, is an important way-station for Kereru & should not be destroyed. Karaka seedlings and many other natives including Totara, Nikau, Pittosporum, Kawakawa and Coprosma appear under the dominant Pin-Oaks (friendly exotics). Puriri and Bush Lawyer also feature as fruiting adults (next slide is 142).

242 Redoubt Road

Counter Proposal:Redoubt Ridge is needed for a Biodiversity Corridor

to run from the Hunua Ranges via the Redoubt/Mill Road ridge to the

Waitakeres

WHY?

Proposed road will tear-through critical high diversity BUSH south of Redoubt Rd.

Create a south-east Biodiversity Gateway into Totara Park along Puhinui Creek (1 & 2 below).

Remove road-bed & replace with fly-over.

Kereru with Specific Markings struck recently by vehicle on

Murphy’s Rd.Kereru are observed to fly very low across Murphy’s Rd between the two sections of bush. This bird was recognised as one of a previously mated-pair frequenting #280 Redoubt Road. A total of 5 birds are known to range over a core area of 7 properties between #280 across to #240 Redoubt Rd. In one stroke this population was reduced by 20%-25% courtesy of a speeding car. The survivor has spent the rest of this summer alone. Every Kereru is a precious gift and this loss must affect us all!

Totara regeneration in damaged edge of Everglade Park (Everglade Drive roadside in Totara Heights).

Everywhere one goes outside of this context the situation is dire. The bush struggles to reproduce itself, efforts at replanting amount only to the establishment of a few miserable flax bushes, some cabbage trees, a bit of Coprosma, Ti Tree and Pittosporum here and there. Yet on Redoubt Ridge the “old bush” strains to be let free at every turn.

Poor awareness: what is the reason for this?

It is perhaps that Kiwis have not yet learned to value their bush? They still speak disparagingly of “young bush” as “rubbish” as “scrub” and so forth. The early settlers spent so much time “clearing the bush” that we still think of bush as an “impediment to progress” instead of a priceless heritage. “There is too much bush around anyway” is an oft-heard refrain!

The facts are to the contrary: In New Zealand the estimated number of Native Bush vascular plants is around 2,500 species. Exotic vascular plants already in NZ amount to some 20,000 species 2,000 of which have escaped into the wild. At every turn the combination of progress together with the pressure exerted by exotic forms better adapted to the disturbed environments we make & remake for ourselves, push the bush into increasingly marginalised positions. So much so that our bush will be gone and sooner than we think.

Slow learners?Some Kiwis seem very slow to understand that NZ natives trees are very rare, even unique in the whole world. Absolutely no foreign forest looks or feels like Kiwi bush. Not in South Africa, not in South America and in the northern Hemisphere just forget it. Tasmania, sort of, in some places, a bit like, but not the real thing…

But not on Redoubt Ridge! Here they know already! (292 Redoubt next)

Puriri: eight years fromplant-out.Joyce is 5’ high.Soil iscomposted Gorse.5’ = 1.5m

Key-stone species for a biodiversity corridor:

Kereru and Puriri are absolutely the two most important species. If Puriri can be established to the age of 15 years or so then, when these trees fruit, Kereru will inevitably follow, provided they are not killed by speeding cars or discouraged by an unbroken array of barren roof-tops and a continuous maze of busy streets. Once Kereru induct fruiting Puriri into their home ranges then the bush will inevitably follow.

Auckland Transport Authority has not even considered consulting with the Auckland Council Biodiversity Team in relation to siting the road-bed. How can that be? One wonders in bewilderment!

Answer: Create an Auckland Biodiversity Authority with equivalent political standing. Allocate to this body the power of veto over

inappropriate road-works. Fund it initially with ¼ of the current Auckland Rate-Payers contribution to the Auckland Transport Authority, as a direct deduction from the Auckland Transport budget.

What to do about the arrogant-imperialistic

attitude struck by Auckland Transport Authority in the matter of road-routing and

so forth?

“I WILLSURVIVE!”

Self-sewn Puririswaddled by its planted friends.

ENDPresentation by:

J R E Harger

PhD, Population Ecology, UCSBAdvisor: Dr J H Connell

Professor Emeritus

University of California @ Santa Barbara

Director, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

of UNESCO (retired)

A more complete explanation of the corridor will be screened during

question-time