Green Corridors Range to River volunteer Ralph Sims is following his passion

Ralph Sims is a stalwart of Palmerston North volunteer group Green Corridors Range to River.

Ralph Sims is a man of many diverse talents.

His ability to turn his hand to planting and successfully maintaining native trees in the Turitea Valley as part of his volunteer work for Green Corridors Range to River is just one of them.

Sims is perhaps better known as Professor Emeritus of Sustainable Energy and Climate Mitigation and for his 53-year stint at Massey University.

Sims has lived in the Turitea Valley with his wife Cathy for 38 years.

They frequently walked the trails that Green Corridors has since developed such as the walk through the wonderful Adderstone Reserve.

For someone so professionally invested in mitigating climate change, planting and maintaining native trees as part of the Green Corridors project and joining the committee was an obvious step.

Sims says carbon sequestration is close to his heart. Although native regeneration and maintenance is not a permanent solution, it’s helping us buy some time but we need to reduce domestic emissions urgently.

Green Corridors Range to River aims to plant corridors of eco-sourced native vegetation along stream banks and walkways connecting the Tararua Range to the Manawatū River.

This provides habitat for wildlife including birds, insects and lizards but also improves the water quality of the streams and helps the aquatic life.

In 1998, Palmerston North City Council approached community members to discuss creating a green corridor of native plants from the Tararua Range to the Manawatū River.

The first planting was in 2001. This group initially focused on the Turitea Valley but has now extended to many of the gullies in the Summerhill and Aokautere areas.

The group has evolved into a successful collaboration between the community, city council and Horizons Regional Council.

Sims focuses his efforts on a tract of the Turitea Valley following Te Araroa down the steps from Turitea Rd to the valley below and along the stream to Ngahere Park Rd.

With help from grandchildren and Totara Glen Nursery staff, he has recently planted hundreds of natives on both sides of the steps so birds and insects can thrive in this diverse, beautiful space.

There is also an element of weed control; old man’s beard, blackberry and gorse are a constant issue, as are predator pests that are being successfully trapped.

Sims is passionate about this work and is particularly enthused by the increase in native birds, citing a recent study that recorded more than 600 tūī flying every evening back from the city through the Turitea Valley to roost in the ranges.

This is the result of the efforts of the many volunteers – there is always room for more.

Green Corridors Range to River is a member group of Environment Network Manawatū. You can find more about our work at enm.org.nz.