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Selwyn's living fences
Long rows of tall trees planted along fence lines are a striking visual feature of the rural Selwyn landscape and Canterbury has the largest expanse of them in Aotearoa New Zealand.
These living fences, known as shelterbelts, are part of a 300,000 km network planted across Canterbury to provide shade and shelter for crops and livestock, and to minimise soil erosion from the drying nor’west wind.
Shelterbelts also provide stock feed and habitats for bees, birds and other wildlife.
Whites Aviation Ltd. Alexander Turnbull Library (WA-44167)
The best shelterbelt trees are resilient, fast-growing, easily pruned, have deep roots, and don’t rob water and nutrients from the soil. From the 1850s, European farmers introduced gorse hedges for shelter on the plains. These spread like weeds, however, so were replaced with shelterbelts of non-native trees (usually radiata pine or macrocarpa) from the early 1900s. Increasingly, native species such as tarata (lemonwood) or ngaio are now being used.
Image: Shelterbelt near Hawkins River, SH77, July 2023. In winter, the outlines of deciduous shelterbelts provide a sculptural element to the landscape. Photograph by Sarah Davy .
Shelterbelts are one of the defining features of Selwyn’s landscape.
Image: Selwyn District Council