Visitors to Western Springs Te Wai Ōrea Park now have a new path to explore.
Funded by Waitematā Local Board, the additional loop track was recently blessed by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, and is now open to the public.
The track connects to a pre-existing pedestrian route that runs from West View Road through to the lakeside below, creating a loop walk and viewing experience through the regenerating native forest area.
Waitematā Local Board chair Genevieve Sage says park visitors now have more choice around the walking routes they can take.
During the opening ceremony, she acknowledged the hard work that has taken place in the area over recent years, and the changes that has brought.
“This loop track is part of the Western Springs Native Bush Restoration Project, which started with the board’s approval in 2015 to return the area to native forest. We can now see new growth and fresh life springing up.
“The project saw 200 large pines, some of them dead, removed. It was never an easy thing to watch big trees you have known for a long time being removed to allow for something new in its place. But there has been a lot of restorative planting that’s now flourishing into an ecosystem of indigenous flora and fauna.”
The track’s creation was approved last year after results from community consultation earlier in the year returned overwhelmingly public support.
Stay up to date
Want to stay up to date with all the latest news from your area? Sign up for the Waitematā Local Board E-news and get it direct to your inbox each month.
