Security cameras have been mooted along the Great Taste Trail where vandals on quad bikes attacked trees that are part of an edible walkway created voluntarily by Roger Jones.
Most of the trees have been propped back up after the attack, but Roger says many will not survive the damage and he expects 10 of the 19 trees flattened will need to be replaced. To replace the four-year-old trees and posts would cost an estimated $5,000 and he is hoping the owners of the quad bikes can be identified so the bikes can be sold to cover the cost of the damage.
The attack happened at night on 19 December when two quad bike riders drove along the trail which follows the Railway Reserve in Hope. Two traffic signs were knocked over and a bike drove at speed over the line of trees which until now have had simple wooden stakes to support them.
Now Waimea Estates is donating recycled wooden posts and supplying a tractor with a post driver to try and protect the trees from further vandalism, while Tasman District Council councillor Kit Maling has suggested the council erect security cameras and says that is the best way to deter vandals.
Roger hopes there will not be another attack, but until the culprits are identified the risk remains.
The December attack on a line of trees was the second time quad bikes have been driven over trees in three months.
He discovered the recent damage when he went to water the 119 trees and 174 smaller plants along the side of the trail that are a mix of edibles and specimen trees.
“I arrived 9am Wednesday morning to water them and I could see them lying over. I nearly cried and it takes a lot to make me do that.
“I was devastated. I couldn’t focus on anything for quite a few days afterwards and that drove my wife mad.”
He has been told quad bikes have been used to cause damage along the Railway Reserve all the way out to Belgrove.
The quad bikes and their drivers were seen beside the smashed trees on the night of the attack.
“The word respect doesn’t exist in their environment.”
He has been in contact with the police, who have been busy with the Christmas and New Year period. In the meantime, he is determined to rectify the damage and carry on.
“I’m just trying to beautify the area and give something to the neighbourhood.
“The community keeps coming to me and says please don’t give up.”
The Givealittle page that he created to help cover the cost of watering the trees received a good response from the community and he says that will help fund replacement trees, though he would still like the quad bikes found and sold.
