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This is a shared arts column put together by the Howick Historical Village, Te Tuhi, and Uxbridge Arts and Culture.
- By Francesca Lolaiy, operations manager, and Luke Southern, heritage gardener, Howick Historical Village
Hidden in the trees and gardens at Howick Historical Village, interactive art pieces and handcrafted emblems of birds, bees, and creatures are waiting to be discovered.
Part of a temporary installation created by the village’s heritage gardener Luke Southern, The Pollinator Trail highlights the vital role these creatures play in our ecosystems and the delicate balance of all living things in our environment.
Pollinators help plants reproduce. To put this in perspective, they’re responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food.
Without them, agricultural economies, our food supply, and surrounding landscapes would collapse.
Crafted in timber using pyrography (woodburning) with colour and resin added, Luke’s dynamic pieces include giant mobiles and puzzles, optical illusions, totems and hanging pendants.
Working on art pieces of native birds during the lockdown in 2021 inspired Luke to create a fully immersive trail, one that would take visitors through various natural settings in the village’s seven-acre landscape.
Each site is connected to the beneficials – creatures and organisms good for the garden – found in those habitats.
The tui are in the kowhai; lizards in pohutukawa, as they love its sweet nectar; monarchs over nettles as some butterflies lay eggs in the stinging plants for protection; and moths in dark areas of bush.
The trail ends with a giant jigsaw featuring many plants and insects.
It’s a metaphor for the interconnectedness of everything in Te Taio – the natural world that contains and surrounds us.
“Healthy ecosystems are about a multitude of pollinators and creatures working together,” Luke says.
The puzzle needs every piece of the pollinator network brought together in order to be complete.
This trail is about an understanding of the interdependence of all its elements and a relationship of respect and understanding the natural world.
“Let the landscape tell you want it wants to do.”
Luke’s ethos as a gardener is to work with nature rather than to force a plan onto it.
His top tips to create healthy environments for pollinators, beneficial insects, and animals to thrive:
- Limit spraying
- Don’t be afraid to leave a mess! A pile of leaves is an essential habitat for bugs and beneficials
- Where possible let flowers and plants run for their full cycle (go to seed, etc)
The Pollinator Trail runs Saturday, March 1 to Wednesday, April 30 at Howick Historical Village, Bells Road, Pakuranga. Tuesday to Sunday 10am-4pm.
See also: https://www.historicalvillage.org.nz/eventslivedays. Free with regular admission.
