Creating a landmark in Richmond
Canopy boss Luke Porter’s very excited about his team’s Silvan Forest project in Richmond. He’s a keen mountain biker but that’s not the only reason the project is lighting his fire.
“Silvan forest is going to be one the key landmarks as you drive into Nelson. It’s like a painting in a way and it’s what I, and many others, see every day as they head to work in the city.”
The Nelson-based landscape architect is quick to pay tribute to his client and the wider team which has been charged with developing an arboretum on 160 hectares of private, hill country land.
The Griffin family has owned the land for around 30 years. About 50 hectares was planted in pine and is also home to some existing and very popular mountain bike trails. The pine forest has been retired and will be replaced with the arboretum, more mountain bike tracks and new walking paths.
Luke says the family is passionate about outdoors, the environment and certainly about trees and has long worked with Appletons Nursery in Wakefield. They have developed an arboretum at their house and are keen to progress their ideas on a much bigger scale and that is where the Silvan Forest project comes in. They have begun replacing the pine with a range of native and exotic tree and plant species.
In working on the project Luke also credits Canopy colleague Shea Gillison for his work on the 3D modelling which Luke says has been hugely useful for developing the Silvan Forests masterplan.
Below Luke talks us through the project in detail.
The project
Silvan forest is the regeneration of an existing pine forest on a large, 160 hectare, elevated site which has grown pine trees for the past 30 years. The client has decided to retire that forest in order to create a large arboretum which will become the backdrop of Richmond. There are already a number of mountain bike trails on the site which are loved and cherished by the community so the project involves further development of those as well as adding walking paths.
The brief
Luke says the brief was to come up with a Masterplan for the site which illustrates the intentions of the client and wider team. The Griffin family has been working for years with Robert Appleton of Appletons to come up with a range of appropriate tree species for the site so our task is to illustrate how those might best be used given the site’s topography to create a range of experiences for the users.
The inspiration
Some of the inspiration comes from the existing vegetation. There are some large native stands which became the basis of some of our decisions for the additional natives. But the Griffin family’s passion for the project has been an overriding inspiration and they have been closely involved in the creative process to create a significant arboretum for the site.
The challenges
The main challenges come because of the size of the site. It is an elevated and steep piece of hill country so our role has been about coming up with a clear methodology for the planting of the project. Another challenge has been trying to illustrate what a site that large will look like in five, 10 and 20 years’ time. We used a range of new, modelling technologies to show that.
Luke says the team is very passionate about this project. He says he spends a fair bit of his leisure time up there, riding the trails and working on Silvan Forests means he has been able to explore the site in a range of ways.
The details
Client - The Griffin Family
Trees - Appleton’s Nursery
3D Modelling - Canopy
Tracks construction/design - Chris Mildon, Rick Griffin
Planting began this year and ongoing trail works will continue with no specified completion date.
