If the council wants to plant a tree on my berm, at least make it a native one
Planting a garden where I live is hard. Our neighbours' houses block a lot of the sunshine that we would otherwise receive. Swapping a large north-facing property that had all-day Northland sun across the entire section to a shadowy house in South Auckland with not a single blade of grass, except for the roadside berm at the front, has been difficult.
Our garden in Whangārei was a greenfigers' dream. We had two mandarin trees, apples, feijoas, lemons, limes, guavas, figs and a blueberry bush. I had a perennial patch full of rhubarb, strawberries and asparagus. Bronze fennel and corn salad grew wild alongside different types of mint. There were five varieties of taro, gardenias, frangipani, rose bushes, a herb garden and more. A glut of seasonal produce was constantly being cycled through.
Unfortunately, our house in Māngere is short on suitable garden space. The berm is one of few spots on our section that receives a decent amount of sunshine – enough to grow anything requiring substantial light anyway. The small patch of clay between our front fence and the footpath was quickly claimed by my mother-in-law, who planted gardenias and a couple of other mementos to her tropical roots. While it's a beautiful ode to her Pacific whakapapa, it hasn't left me with many options for an appropriate space to scratch my greenthumb itch.
Not long after we moved in, desperate to recreate something even slightly akin to our garden in Whangārei, I researched whether or not we could grow a garden on our berm. It didn't take me long before I discovered the council not only discouraged people from planting things on their berms, but also expected us to maintain them at our own cost. Basically, I was financially and morally liable for the upkeep of the berm, but the council had final say on what happened with it.
As annoying as the discovery was, I have obliged with the upkeep since we moved in almost two years ago, mowing the berm whenever the grass starts getting a bit too long. I even brought an electric weedeater and hand mower just for the berm. Being surrounded by state housing, it has been interesting to note that the council provides complimentary berm mows for their own housing stock, but not for the one or two privately-owned berms on the street.
I don't have a major issue with the council's expectation that I will maintain my own berm. In fact, over time, I've become fond of the small patch of grass at the front of my property. I've spent countless hours trimming and maintaining the berm, picking up any wayward rubbish that finds its way onto the grass, and ensuring that people don't park on it when it has been raining. I think it's natural to become attached to something you have cared for over a sustained period of time. I'm proud of my berm.
Unfortunately, that pride and connection was severely disrupted by Auckland Council last month, after they decided to plant a tree on my berm without any prior consultation or notice. Instead, I found out via a security camera notification alerting me that someone was on our roadside. Much to my horror, I opened the app to see two men in bright orange hi-vis jumpers digging a hole the size of a large tire on my beloved berm. As they had recently been in our neighbourhood planting trees on the other side of the street, I instantly knew that a tree was being planted on our berm and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
However, the biggest shock of all came that evening, when I arrived home and inspected the new addition to the berm I had been painstakingly maintaining for the last 18 months – the tree the council had planted was exotic. My heart sank. If the council insisted on planting a tree on the berm, why could it not have been a native species? I wouldn't have minded a kōwhai, totara, or puriri – but I struggle to understand why it had to be a foreign tree.
In 2023, the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board plan found the average canopy cover in the area was at 8%, well below the minimum target of 15% under the Urban Ngahere Strategy and below the urban Auckland average of 18%. The Urban Ngahere Strategy was released in 2019 and aims to increase canopy cover to 30% across Auckland's urban area, and at least 15% in every local board area. There are nine principles identified in the strategy – the first being the right tree in the right place and the second a preference for native species. Two principles I would argue the tree on my berm fails to honour.
The right tree in the right place? A preference for natives? This tree is the exact opposite. Firstly, it's an exotic tree that will grow ridiculously high with a vast root system, eventually posing a risk to my house and likely destroying the footpath. In fact, part of the footpath just metres away from my house has long been ruined due to tree roots running underneath it and a failure from council to address the problem. It is impossible to navigate with a pram, let alone a wheelchair, and poses a serious risk to the elderly residents of the pensioner flats down the road. So what was the council's solution? Plant another, similar, tree right next to the footpath.
If the council truly cares about what we plant on our berms, then why aren't they planting native species, in accordance with the second principle of their own Urban Ngahere Strategy. I would have loved to have planted a fruit tree, or perhaps my own roadside herb garden, some perennial flowers for the insects, or maybe a harakeke bush or two. Instead, I found myself mowing my new look berm over the weekend, carefully navigating my weed eater and push mower around the new unwanted wooden feature plopped oddly in the middle. They say rich are those who plant trees, under whose shade they will never sit. I'd say even richer are those who tolerate trees they never wanted in the first place.
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