THE PRESS TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1981. Nature’s place in towns

Press, 4 August 1981, Page 16

THE PRESS TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1981. Nature’s place in towns

Environmental questions are among the most, hotly debated questions in New Zealand , political life. People argue strenuously - and endlessly - on such topics as what powers the Commission for the Environment should have, whether mining should be permitted on the Coromandel Peninsula, and whether the proposed smelter at Aramoana is worth its < environmental costs. It is proper that argument about such topics should be . encouraged, for they touch on the sort of. country New Zealand will become. Conservation week is pitched sensibly at a lower level. Even those who are most critical of conservationists or environmenalists . will be unlikely to dispute the need to encourage “nature” to flourish in New Zealand towns and cities and to encourage people to enjoy the parks, gardens, and other open spaces, some of them desirably rough, which are in or close to most New Zealand cities.

A week directed at achieving such goals is to some extent less needed in New Zealand than it would be in many other countries. Seashore, countryside,, and mountains are more readily accessible to urban New Zealanders than to people living in many cities around the world. New Zealand cities are far from being “concrete jungles." Even so, they would be better places if people took more interest in planting trees and shrubs and

encouraging wildlife within city boundaries. Christchurch has a reputation for being a city of trees and gardens which, beyond Hagley Park and the river banks in the city centre and some parks and the better planted suburbs, it does not entirely deserve. More trees, especially large trees, could be planted in Christchurch to the city’s great advantage.

There is another trend in recreatinal planning and development to which a conservation week emphasising nature’s place in town and the access of city dwellers to parks, gardens, and countryside could give a useful boost. This is the trend towards providing recreational opportunities in natural settings closer to the cities than are the country’s national parks and major reserves. The costs of motoring are not going to decline and it is likely that more and more New Zealand city dwellers are going to look for their “escape to nature” in places that can be reached by public transport or by a short journey by car from their city homes. Christchurch citizens are fortunate that town planners have encouraged this notion for many years. Councils, such as the Waimairi County Council and the Christchurch City Council have done relatively well in preserving areas for recreation close to the city and they deserve public encouragement to continue the policy.