Upper Hutt Trees Worth Protecting
- NZ Empowered
- Oct 5, 2024
- 2 min read
Message from Tracey Ultra - Upper Hutt Councillor
I was at the Fergusson Drive land last week, just being nosy. I wanted to get up close to the tōtara tree that’s about 8 metres from the road. Currently the power sub station is staying put so the tree is safe for now.
After getting close to the tōtara I think it would be good to have it assessed as it could be old enough to be a notable tree and be protected. There is no current road design plan for this location so it would be wise to get protection in place before the design is started.
Tōtara live for 1000 years and this one could only be 100 - 200 years old.
It is significant as it has a kererū resting in it, so it's part of a bird corridor to get across the city and a source of tōtara berries that native birds feed on.
Kererū can be seen in the centre of the photo with his singlet facing the camera.
The tōtara has an amazing canopy, this would feed a lot of birds.
Looking toward the LTNZ you can see two other tōtara.
I'm pleased to see this piece of land getting public attention and would love to see it improved by adding more trees.
I will go back and measure the trees girth and see if it meets the notable tree criteria.
When I was standing at the foot of the tree looking towards Gibbons st I could see that a straight road from Gibbons to Fergusson/ Blenheim st would take out this tree and a piece of the corner of this site including the substation.
While there is no current need to realign the road for traffic - it is expected that we may need to in the future. I'd love to know what people think.
We have been to have a look and took a measurement in accordance with Mr Google that a girth of a tree is measured at 1.4m from the ground. The measurement we have taken was 2.7m in circumference. We are no scholars in this area, but to those who are passionate in this area, you may be able to help Tracey out. The other 2 trees on the lot can be seen in the photo we took approaching Upper Hutt by Burger King. We are no tree specialists but assume these ones are not protectable. But again, over to those who know..
