Although it is not currently the planting season, our team is working hard!
Te Ara Kākāriki are very keen to encourage the public to experience our native restoration work, and recently at our large legacy site Te Pae O Ahuriri we have been working on planning and constructing a shelter. Located near the top north-eastern corner of the site, it will offer views across Ahuriri Reserve and our native plantings with the mountains beyond.
Our shelter design integrates the history of the local area with railway sleepers representing the nearby historical railway network which ran from Little River to Lincoln. The roof design reflects the shape of a wharenui while kānuka poles connect the structure back to our planting, mission and the new life of the land. Our design is rustic and humble on the land, similar to a barn and representing the many years that the land has been farmed. We’ve been really pleased to be able to use locally sourced second-hand iron, as well as railway sleeper seconds to make our build as sustainable as possible.
At the time of writing this article, the roofing iron has just gone on – a southerly weather change approaching certainly added a bit of pressure but we made it in time, and so far the build has gone very smoothly. We’re very grateful to David Bailey and Lou Drage for their help with the construction side of things, and have enjoyed the change from our planting work.
In the future information panels will be incorporated as well to enable the public to learn about the area, its history, and Te Ara Kākāriki’s vision for Te Pae O Ahuriri. We hope you’ll look forward to seeing the finished shelter, and that the many users of the Little River Rail Trail will enjoy it too.
