The annual growth spurt of the city's more than 10 million m² of greenery results in a lot more mowing, weeding, and garden maintenance work, usually from September through February.
The team has a plan in place, but there will be places around the city that may look a bit more overgrown than usual.
“Nature is putting in some overtime right now and we’re working hard to keep pace,” says Acting Head of City Operations, Alison Law.
“We appreciate the community bearing with us while we tackle the spring growth surge. While some areas may take a little longer to get to, we have a ‘safety first’ approach, and will be focusing on sightlines, pathways, intersections, and public-use areas. We'd encourage people to contact us if they spot anything that looks unsafe or needs urgent attention.”
Work to get ahead of the annual growth began in early April, with increased planting, garden bed in-filling and an extensive citywide re-mulching programme to suppress weeds, reduce chemical use and minimise ongoing manual maintenance.
This year the team will also have to contend with an El Niño weather pattern which could provide some challenging and unpredictable growing conditions.
“Extended dry spells can slow grass growth, which might sound great for our mowing teams, but can be tough on our gardens and plantings,” says Alison.
“On the other hand, periods of rain followed by sunshine can create rapid growth, meaning some areas may appear to get away on us more quickly than others.”
In Tauranga, there is 5.64 million m² of grass (including sports fields), 4 million m² of vegetation, wetlands and dunes, and 285,000 m² of gardens and hedges looked after and maintained by the City Operations team.
While Council’s City Operations team is responsible for managing vegetation control and grass mowing on local roads, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is responsible for maintaining the local state highway corridors.
For people who enjoy a bit of weed wrangling, planting and helping our environment, Council has a volunteer-led programme of maintenance and planting, in addition to the work the City Operations team does. For more information visit www.tauranga.govt.nz/environment/environmental-volunteering.
Check out the work the City Operations team has been doing this spring.