Chartered Natural Therapies Practitioner Don Paterson is hoping to gain public support in petitioning the Western Bay of Plenty District Council to plant fruit trees in Te Puke reserves.

A tui.

He is submitting on the council's Te Puke Reserves Management Plan that by planting fruit trees, native bird populations will increase.

Submissions on this issue close at 5pm today, but Don hopes people will take the time this afternoon to make an online submission in support of his idea.

He says it is easy and a submission need only say for ‘decision sought': 'Western Bay of Plenty District Council will plant fruit and nectar bearing native trees in Te Puke Reserves.”

Posting a submission can be done at: www.westernbay.govt.nz: Council: consulting: online submissions (towards page end): ‘next' and follow the prompts.

Don's submission:

I hereby lodge a service request that WBOPDC does plant fruit and nectar bearing native trees within Te Puke reserves to attract native birds to the area. The tree species that I request to be planted are:

Kaikomako

Matai

Miro

Tawa

Pigeonwood

Kowhai

Titoki

Kotukutuku

Hinau

Puriri

Paraire

Flax

There has clearly been a public desire for tree planting as a lot of trees have been planted by numerous different local residents over a long period of time. I propose that some of these trees could best be replaced with fruit and nectar bearing native trees which could be planted there.

I had proposed to the WBOPDC Draft Long Term Plan for the Future of Maketu, that native fruit and nectar bearing trees could best be planted at Maketu to attract native birds to the area. This proposal was adopted in the plan and has seen Kotukutuku Gully cleared of exotic weeds and planted with native trees as a community project with assistance from WBOPDC.

The proposed planting of native fruit and nectar bearing trees in Te Puke Reserves is supported by Te Puke Environmental Forum and by Te Puke Forest and Bird.

I take this opportunity to further recommend to Western Bay of Plenty District Council that fruit and nectar bearing native trees could also be planted on all roadsides within the Western Bay of Plenty District, and on all public lands that are owned by Western Bay of Plenty District Council, and in all places that plantings are deemed to be desirable by adjacent land owners.

These proposed plantings could earn Western Bay of Plenty District Council considerable future income from carbon credits earned for regenerating native forest, and they could create a prolific abundance of native bird species throughout the Western Bay of Plenty District.

Kindest regards

Don Paterson

HbT. SRF; SNTR

NZ Chartered Natural Therapies Practitioner