Wynyard Quarter Silo Park
A 36ha park undergoing a 25 year transformation.
As they say down there; There’s lots to see and plenty to do –take in the view from the gantry in Silo Park, shoot some hoops at the Playspace, dip your toes in the water at Karanga Plaza, admire the Wind Tree sculpture and marvel at the super yachts, watch fish being unloaded, then enjoy the freshest seafood or a cup of coffee at the water’s edge at one of the cafes or restaurants along North Wharf.
Why don’t they mention the plants? The beautiful humility of Nature showing tenacity, strength and resilience, self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, intuition, whilst restoring the planet back to what it is supposed to be without a mention or even looking for one.
Ecosystem: The Power of Plants
There is the mixture of the old and the new in Wynyard quarter. The wharves still function as a commercial site for fishing boats. The roads intertwined as functioning access to the wharves through the public spaces. This activity along with the inherent storage of petrochemicals at the Tank Farm contributes urban stormwater catchment with pollutants.
The power of plants incorporated as swales drains and rain gardens provide a vibrant ecosystem designed by nature to biosequester runoff through these living filters.
The specimen trees throughout the landscape are chosen to reflect the coastal forests that would have once graced the beautiful harbour before the waterfront infrastructure took their place.
The self-seeding plants in these swales are proof that Mother Nature is urgent in bringing power to life, creating planet changing vitality from the ground up.
Ecovitalism: The Ugly becomes Beautiful
The clever juxtaposition that an urban playground and public space is in and amongst something as unattractive and ugly as a Petroleum tank farm. The Wynyard quarter is extremely popular and is a reminder that the ecology and the economy go hand in hand.
When we work together the natural world and humanity can both be at the top of their game.
