Tree Planting at Drury Quarry
Limiting the potential aesthetic impacts from our operations is important to us and to our neighbours. An extensive tree planting project at our Drury Quarry has enabled us to do just that. It has enhanced existing native bush and habitats for native flora and fauna.
In 1999, we planted 320 leyland cypress along MacWhinney Drive near our Drury Quarry. The trees created a fast-growing hedge, screening the quarry from nearby residents and providing shelter for an extensive programme of native plantings. We began by planting about a thousand native trees and shrubs in what’s known as the Drury Block – an area covering about two hectares. These natives include forest trees like matai, totara, rimu and kauri as well as mahoe, lemonwood, lancewood, puriri, five-finger, kohekohe and other trees and shrubs that fruit and nectar feeding birds rely on for their food supply.
In 2006 we planted thousands of cupressocyparis ovensii, blackwoods and tea trees to screen the north end of the quarry. These shrubs will provide shelter for clumps of natives we plan to plant from next year. We have fenced off two other large blocks around the Drury Quarry – the Sutton and Thorburn blocks - to allow native bush to regenerate. We have a maintenance and planting programme in place to help this process.
In total, we have planted over 12,000 shrubs and trees and manage around eight hectares of forest and bush. In future, we have plans to create a wetlands area, providing habitat for native birds as part of settlement control from our stormwater ponds. We also plan to trial spraying tea tree and pittosporum seeds instead of grassing finished faces of the quarry.
Find out more about Community and Sustainability initiatives at Stevenson Resources.
