Pollinator Paths - a concept of connection for Auckland
Pollinator Paths is a movement that aims to connect Auckland's parks and reserves together to make pollination pathways. It’s the brainchild of Andrea Reid, who’s been working on the concept since early 2014.
It began as a university thesis in her final year of a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree. “I was shocked by the news coverage at the time around the loss of pollinators worldwide and what that could mean for us if they became extinct and could no longer fulfil their pollination services,” she says.
Andrea Reid has been working on the Pollinator Paths concept since 2014.
Reid realised that although Auckland has a lot of green spaces, many of them are disconnected, especially in the central city and fringe. This is bad news for pollinators like bees, bats, birds and butterflies, which need to travel around. “Pollinators are one of those little things in life that we take for granted. But without them, almost one-third of our food source could disappear.”
Reid realised many of Auckland pollination patches were disconnected.
She believes that by creating specially planted smaller pocket parks these crucial insects and birds will be coaxed into them to enable our growing urban food network to thrive.
The first one, in Hakanoa Reserve, Grey Lynn, is the stepping stone in the proposed pathway linking the habitats of Grey Lynn Park and Cox’s Bay Reserve.
Plans for living walls, berm planting, rooftop gardens and more will ultimately form a number of additional paths across Ponsonby, Kingsland, Grafton and the central city.
Find out more about the initiative here and see Andrea Reid’s story in the video below.
