We have outdone ourselves this year with the huge amount of work that we have done. As a result we have planted over 6500 trees and shrubs.
Sadly we have also had the worst year for vandalism with broken trees on the riverbank and an area of Addison Street bush, near the weir, has had 25 mature trees cut down, and others dug up in an attempt to make a bike track in the bush area.
There has also been a theft from our nursery which has never happened in all the years we have had the nursery in Thornton Road. Hence we are missing our chainsaw and two weed eaters and one twenty litre petrol tin. Now some of the jobs are going to be delayed until we can get funding for replacement tools.
However we have had positive response from a number of financial supporters listed below and without their continued support we would not be able to continue the work we do;
Dr George Marshall, Fonterra, Trust Waikato, The Greenwood Trust, The Waipa District Council, The Cambridge Community Board, Rotary, Lions, and Jumble Around.
Green Belt Tree Planters
This year 125 planters have been erected on the green belt from Lamb Street to Fletcher Place. We have to thank John Davies and his team of volunteers for all the work put into erecting the planters and planting and staking the trees, and to suppress the weeds we are going to put carpet squares around each tree. The variety of trees planted in them are; Beech, Liquid Amber, Liriodendron, Cercis, Maples, Mexican Oaks. The Cambridge Community Board funded the materials for this.
The Terrace
(Behind house 31 Shakespeare Street.) We spent the first few weeks of the planting season working on the steep banks in these two areas, before the major rains came to make it slippery and dangerous, to plant Mountain Flax, Phormium tenax, creeping Coprosma, Hebe, Grisilinia, Karo, bottlebrush and Coprosma robusta, which now cover the banks here.
River view behind the Kauri Grove, Shakespeare Street
This area is opposite the boat ramp and while planting on the steep face we had a school kayaking group on the river watching us, before they set off downstream in the sunshine while we scrambled up and down digging holes and planting these varieties of trees and shrubs; Mountain Flax, Phormium tenax, Bottlebrush, Camellia, Michelia, Tarata, Karo, Pittosporum. This area now looks a picture.
Oakland's fence line
We have taken longer here to get a good lot of trees to grow than most other places because of the varieties we chose, and the very wet places and the cows that put their heads over the fence and ate the trees that were too close. We have added some Kahikatea, Mountain Flax, Kowhai, Hebe and Coprosma robusta to our plantings here
Polo ground Lamb Street
We had trouble at the Shakespeare Street end in trying to get a hedge established in the goal area to prevent balls going out on the road. The first two lots of trees were sprayed by mistake and mown by error so we hope the new Grisilinia hedge will get growing now that it has been well mulched. We also planted 20 assorted evergreen oaks, maples and cedar around the edge at the back with two posts each for support and to show the mower man that they are there.
Bath Street Park
We had an Arbor Day planting and with that support we managed to plant nearly 1000 trees and shrubs; Magnolia, Cedars, Michelia, Camillia, evergreen Oaks, Bottlebrush, Maples; and Natives; ferns, flax's, Tarata, Akeake, Pittosporum, Kowhai, Coprosma, Grisilinia, Hebe's, Carex grasses and Hoheria. This has now been named the Lola Silcock Park and is looking great.
Camellia Gardens
We continue with the care of these trees with mulch, and fertilisation and we added more Camellias and Michelia.
Lake Te Ko Utu
We work closely with the Parks staff in the work that goes into keeping this park in good order. Our volunteers have planted the southern banks with Bottlebrush, cedars, Pseudopanax, Banksia, Grevillea, Liquid Amber, and the western end has magnolias and Circes and the top behind the Girl guides building has a mixture of flowering trees on the top edge. The corrections department teams planted the ferns by the Flow forms and a group of mixed flowering trees at the base of the Albert Street Hill.
Maungakawa Reserve
On the bank past the entrance to the reserve the children from Tamahere School planted a strip of native trees.
Ann's Patch
Some of our Mexican evergreen Oaks were planted along the river bank park by the corrections department teams;
Beck's landing
At the entrance to this place the corrections department teams planted Pittosporum, Tarata, Hoheria, Karo.
Leamington Cemetery
Five trees were planted to provide shade in places nominated by the council. These were planted by Dr Ann Pearson.
Addison Street
In the fenced off area near the river a corrections department team planted some totara and mixed natives.
B.M.X.Track
300 assorted natives planted by their volunteers in an 80 metrer strip along the south-western boundary as required by resource consents.
Te Awamutu lakes
A ute and trailer load of flax and mountain flax were taken to be planted by volunteers over there. We had grown these plants from seed.
Cambridge Kindergarten
Were given sixty mixed natives for a border to the playground. We have given them these plants for a mixed border along one side of the playground after we have stopped planting for the season but being on site every day the children will be able to keep the plants watered if the season gets dry before the trees get established.
This year we received a Trust Power award for our work in the Environment and Heritage section and to finish this great year we have just received an award from Bio-security for the effort we have taken to clear the rubbish on the riverbank and turn it into the Lola Silcock Park. All in all it has been a very successful year enhancing the Town of Trees.
