A new report reveals data about urban tree cover in the Ōrākei Local Board area.
The Urban Ngahere (Forest) programme is an Auckland Council strategy addressing concerns around tree cover changes across the region. The programme has three phases: ‘Knowing’, ‘Growing’ and ‘Protecting’.
In the Ōrākei Local Board area, analysis of 2013 tree cover data as part of the programme’s ‘Knowing’ phase, has revealed that trees cover about 19.7 per cent of the area’s land.
Ōrākei Local Board chair Kit Parkinson says this is about 4.7 per cent above the minimum target that has been set by Auckland Council’s strategy which is for no local board area to have less than 15 per cent tree cover.
“The health of our local ecology is really important to our local board. It’s good to know we’re ahead of the programme’s minimum target but we look forward to the ‘Growing’ phase where we’ll be able to work with our communities to increase tree cover in areas where it’s needed,” he said.
The local board has already allocated funding to the ‘Growing’ phase which involves the development of a long-term planting plan that will see a number of activities take place including annual tree plantings’ to address areas of low tree cover. The approach will be collaborative involving local schools and community groups.
