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From Flat Farm Paddock
To Landscaped Campus
Dorothy - 22/1/99
An interview with Peter Cadigan, superintendent of grounds at the
University of Canterbury
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Peter Cadigan in the Endangered Species Garden
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Maybe most students, staff and other people who walk through the campus of
the University of Canterbury take the gardens for granted, but for Peter
Cadigan they have been a passionate interest for the last twenty four
years. He can tell you the history of every tree, rhododendron, azalea and
garden plot. For twenty four years he has been grounds superintendent and
has seen the campus develop from small beginnings.
When the University of Canterbury moved from its town site to Ilam, west of
the city , the site was farmland with the homestead on it known as Okeover.
As buildings were completed departments moved from the city site. When
Peter arrived in 1974 the departments of Civil Engineering, Chemistry,
Physics, Botany, and Geology and the School of Forestry were established.
The Registry was about to open. The Ministry of Works staff who were
overseeing the whole landscape development had done some planting and put
in some semi-mature trees, particularly in what is now the Students'
Association car park. Peter saw the job of further development as a
wonderful challenge.
Scope of the work
The campus covers some 76 hectares (190 acres). Maintaining and developing
the grounds that surround and enhance the increasing number of buildings is
a huge undertaking. Peter oversees ten full time gardeners and their
supervisor who maintain the grounds on the campus, the Ilam Gardens, the
sports grounds, and the gardens of forty five houses owned by the
University and used as transit houses for visiting academics. In the 1970s
and 1980s gangs from the Labour Department helped with raking stones and
levelling the ground for the original lawns. Now a few students are
employed in the summer vacation to cope with the pressures of summer
growth.
Transforming the flat farmland
The site for the campus was rather uninterestingly flat, but the huge piles
of earth created from the excavations for the buildings were used to create
grassy mounds which have proved to be an interesting landscaping
feature.
Trees galore
Trees have been a major feature on the campus. In 1997 all trees more than
four metres high were catalogued with their botanical name, their common
name, their country of origin and other information. The trees totalled
4,200. Staff from the University, Landcare, the Botanic Gardens, and
other agencies completed this task and the resulting database will soon be
on the Net in conjunction with those from places like Kew Gardens and the
Botanical Gardens in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. This is an
ongoing task and the information will be available as an educational
resource.
Blend of native and indigenous trees
As new buildings were established the policy was to plant native trees and
shrubs around them and link each building with European shade trees in
avenues. Fine lawns were laid between the trees, but as the trees have
grown bigger and demanded more from the soil the lawns have died under
them. The plan now is to replace the lawns under the trees with textured
paving.
Rapid tree growth
Some of the trees have grown so fast that decisions need to be made as to
whether they are to be thinned or allowed to develop into copses.
The Chinese poplars which were planted widely, for example between the
Students' Union and the creche, are now becoming spindly and developing
dead wood, so Peter believes that they need to be replaced.
Special trees
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The Okeover oak today
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Trees on the campus which have special significance are to be retained.
The best known of the these is known as the Okeover Oak (quercus
robur) on the north side of Okeover homestead (now the home of
Continuing Education). It is thought to be 130 years old and there was
great concern some twenty years ago when it caught fire. All the leaves
were burnt off one side, but the tree recovered the following season.
Subsequently it had to be reduced by 8 metres (27 feet). Its present
healthy state shows no sign of the fire.
A beautiful magnolia soulangeana to the east of Okeover was
transplanted from the School of Engineering while it was having building
redevelopment and extension.
Some trees are to be retained as VIP trees because they were planted to
mark special occasions. Others are valued for their beauty, especially the
group of prunus yedoensis forming a walkway known as the Cherry
Walk.
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The cherry walk
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A group of alders and pinus pinasters has provided shelter from the north
east wind for the Students' Union building.
The Okeoever oaks on the mounds around the Okeover Car Park were developed
from acorns brought from Okeover Hall in Staffordshire in England. The
acorns were from oak trees mentioned in the Domesday Book.
The Ilam theme
The campus is known as the Ilam Campus from the name of the homestead in
the rhododendron gardens. Peter explained that to maintain the Ilam theme
it seemed appropriate that as many rhododendrons and azaleas as possible be
planted, especially on the shady south side of the campus. These have
taken a long time to get established, but after twenty odd years they have
really come into their own, he said.
A recent challenge has been the development of the grounds around the car
park of the new Law School. Because the earlier mounds had been such a
success on the flat landscape more mounds were established. New
rhododendrons and azaleas have also been planted around the carpark. A
mixture of natives and exotics has been planted closely with a view to
thinning later.
Creepers
On the instructions of one Vice Chancellor ivy was planted around the
Library to soften the appearance of the large concrete structure, but it
grew into the heating ducts and obstructed the windows and had to be
removed.
Now no creepers are planted on any painted surface.
Planting around the streams
Two waterways flow through the campus, the Avon River and Okeover Stream.
In the past grassy riverbanks around Christchurch were mown, and the edges
beside the water were trimmed. Now the Christchurch City Council Water
Services Department policy is to leave the natural growth untrimmed and to
encourage the planting of site-specific indigenous material that is locally
sourced. It is hoped that this will improve the biodiversity of the
area.
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Carex on the bank of Okeover Stream
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A number of appropriate natives - some of the carex riverside grasses,
reeds and rushes - have been planted along the Okeover Stream banks.
Around the bridges there are rhododendrons and azaleas beside the ferns and
other native plantings.
As the springs have dried up Okeover Stream has almost disappeared near the
sports ground, but it has a reasonable flow of water east of Ilam Road as
it is fed by surplus water from the University buildings which have their
own wells.
Irrigation
Dry summers and nor'west winds have been a challenge for the gardeners, and
the big blow in 1978 cost the campus ten big trees, including some fine
cedars, and a wide variety of other trees.
Irrigation has lessened the damage caused by hot nor'westers and times of
drought. In the early days when the irrigation was not automated it was
difficult to maintain the lawns and keep the trees growing. Now the whole
campus is on a computer controlled irrigation system which operates at
night. This is an economical use of water as the system uses only enough
water to maintain the horticulture.
The whole playing field has automatic irrigation. It used to take one man
two weeks moving the perforated spray lines from the east side to the far
boundary. Now the whole field can be watered in one night.
Gardens featuring New Zealand natives
Native trees
East of the School of Forestry is what Peter terms a West Coast garden with
rimu, kanuka, mountain beech, coprosma, nikau, wineberry, native fuchsia,
pohutukawa, and ferns. Pungas have also been grown successfully thanks to
special irrigation.
Endangered species garden
This is sited near the School of Forestry on the bank of Okeover Stream and
thirty native New Zealand endangered species have been planted there. In
the foreground in the photo of Peter in the garden can be seen aciphylla
dieffenbachii flowering profusely.
Flax cultivars
Nine species of New Zealand flax have been planted around Te Ao Marama, the
Maori Studies Department, as part of the landscaping. They will be used
for weaving and other craft work when they mature.
The Bridges of Friendship Garden
This garden is the most recent addition to the campus. It was constructed
as part of the landscaping for the new building for the Department of
Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Computer Science.
The garden honours the 25th anniversary of the sister city relationship
between Kurashiki in Japan and Christchurch. Kurashiki city donated a
stone lantern to mark the anniversary.
The garden combines the idea of the Oriental "Scholar's garden" and
modern ideas from computer science and mathematics. For more details about
the garden and its significance go to the
website.
Peter to retire
After twenty four years Peter retired at the end of 1998. The fine gardens
on the campus are a visible testimony to his dedicated work.
If you have not already done so you may like to read about the
gardens at Ilam Homestead which were also under Peter's direction.
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