Engaging with a bit of wild nature in our cities – صحيفة الصوت

Dr Colin Meurk ONZM is a Christchurch-based landscape ecologist

OPINION: Our history unfolds before us as we step into the future. What part does biodiversity have to play in this story?

Not only is a rich array of species vital to life’s systems and services, but the Earth’s resources are finite, which means we must fit within the planetary boundaries and respect the biodiversity with which we share the planet. Engaging with a bit of wild nature in our cities can help us understand our place within the interdependent biosphere and appreciate its natural processes and limits.

Yes, Ōtautahi Christchurch is included. It’s gone through a few changes in the past 60 million years. Our city could be regarded as a veritable Garden of Eden a millennium ago, as it enjoyed splendid isolation for so long. For long epochs, only occasional natural disruptions influenced the evolving life forms. But they suffered an unprecedented shock from the human introductions that poured in. This laid-back, bird-lizard-driven ecosystem was ill-prepared for the new level of disruption.

Ōtautahi once boasted woods of totara, matai, kahikatea, kowhai or kanuka and the birds that feed on these. At the time of European settlement only Pūtaringamotu and Papanui retained patches of original forest, and these were greatly valued for their sustainably harvested resources by local Māori.

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But Papanui was soon milled to provide timber for the new city; the totara and matai of Riccarton were prized for building materials. The pioneers set about transforming the easily worked flat land for farms, crops, houses, gardens, and parks – in a planned and tidy format, reflecting European attitudes to providing publicly accessible green space. The planting of grand European and other exotic trees along roads, as shelterbelts and in orderly parks with mown (European) grass was very successful and set the tone for the Garden City over the past 150 years.

Today there are at least 3300 plant species growing in the greater Christchurch area, of which half are introduced. These are the conspicuous and dominant elements of the landscape, hiding the often more modest and sparse wild native plants, which, nevertheless, are as numerous as in our national parks. But lack of care and global warming are taking their toll on native ecosystems and their species.

In order to bring biodiversity back to our city, we need to engage in regenerative gardening as Te Maire Tau’s Grand Narratives describes – nurturing the whole person and the whole environment. The two are interlinked.

Just as our actions have affected climate change and the drop in native species, so too can they enable species to flourish. All peoples can learn from their interactions with nature to live within the resources of their patch in an enduring way. We, in our fusion society, are in that transition from an imposing and extractive mode the colonial powers brought with them to a more accommodating approach. Tangata whenua are a vital part of this, holding the memory of this place.

The healing is under way; iwi and numerous communities (often in partnership with council) across the rohe are building a recovered and rediscovered vision of the local world, planting back our natural heritage – making a difference. It is not about removing our cherished grand oak, elm and linden trees, but rather rebalancing the Garden City ledger, so we restore our distinctive ecology. It is also about valuing a bit of urban wild, albeit with tidy frames. We need to relax. More haste, less speed may translate into slowing down, breathing, using fewer chemicals and petrol-driven garden machinery, and understanding the right plant for the right (urban) place.

We have our own natural history to reveal and this needs to happen at large and fine scale – in the visually prominent streets and parks, in courtyards, rock gardens and green roofs. Even your lawn can accommodate biodiversity. We know from Jon Sullivan’s WildCount observations that native birds are 34 times more likely to be seen in patches of urban native trees than in the wider exotic suburbia.

There are those who say we can’t plant our way out of the climate crisis, but there is a more nuanced way of looking at this. Biodiversity not only gives us carbon storage but a whole raft of other ecosystem services – beyond those that any tree, regardless of origin, can provide.

These include native wildlife food, a unique sense of place, a rich story to tell that reaches back to Gondwana and to the first peoples of the land – including their survival, cultural connections to our indigenous species and evolved kaitiakitanga (guardianship), then the later settlers, and the distinctive marks all of these events left on the land.

This, and the informed engagement with it, is a legible landscape. Ultimately all this feeds into an overall sense of belonging, understanding, well-being, and importantly, the peace of mind, wisdom and motivation to take the next critical steps towards climate stability and mitigation.

Dr Colin Meurk will be speaking, along with other experts and passionate people working to bring biodiversity back to our city, on July 26, 6-7.30pm, at Embracing the Urban Wild, presented by Te Pūtahi. This is a free event, registrations required.