Imagine New Zealand without any of its native plants. I wanted to inform you about how if we don’t protect and plant more of our native plants, they will go extinct. I want the Auckland Council to start a big project. To go around all of Auckland and plant as many native plants as you can. Here are some things that might happen if we don’t protect our native plants.

Will our native plants go extinct?

If we don’t protect our beautiful native plants, they will eventually, sadly, go extinct. Who would want to have a country without its native plants? I know I don’t! Some ways to protect them might be to plant more of them or to raise awareness about our native plants. Our country will still look beautiful with all the other plants and flowers but we won’t have any of our own to show to others that come from different countries. Also, our plants are not adapted to invasive species of plants. The invasive species will take all the nutrients in the soil that our plants also need. ”Kauri forests are under threat not only from logging but also from the Kauri dieback disease, which has been exacerbated by human activities”. So, to protect all our plants, what are some things that us humans should stop doing?

What should we stop doing?

Scientists have found out that “air pollution is the world’s top threat to public health, responsible for reducing average life expectancy by 2.3 years worldwide”! One thing that we are doing that harms these plants is pollution. When we build more and more factories, they sometimes dump dirty water, chemicals and oils, and sewage straight into the ground which damages the plants, or their roots. “The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills 7 million people every year”. Factories also produce more and more chemicals that we don’t want in the air. They damage the plants as well as us. To stop this, we should change our factories to more electric and use cleaner fuels. Another big one is deforestation. We are killing many plants when we try to take the land and build more buildings. We should raise awareness about this to others and use our land we already have, wisely. But, what things can we do everyday?

What are some things we can do everyday?

Some things that kids and adults can do everyday are to plant native plants in your garden or backyard. Even if they are in your home, it still helps to keep them away from extinction. Another thing they can do is to pluck out weeds from their gardens so that those don’t harm the plants either. Weeds can ‘steal’ the nutrients, sunlight, water and space from our native plants. For kids, just learning about native and invasive plants is helpful. When they learn all about this, they will know how important it is to keep our beautiful plants alive.  “Adults and kids can reduce plastic usage, recycle, and avoid chemical-based products in their gardens, such as pesticides and fertilizers that can harm plant life.  Less pollution means healthier ecosystems, which in turn support native plants and animals”. You might be thinking, why should we help?

Why should we help?

Some people out there might be wondering why we should protect these plants. There are many reasons for that.  New Zealand is very lucky to have many plants. “80% of our trees, ferns and flowering plants are endemic”. Meaning that those plants are only found in New Zealand. If those plants go away, we won’t have any special plants of our own. Another reason why we should do this is that more plants mean increased biodiversity. We will have more varieties of plants. Also, more plants equal cleaner air. They give out oxygen and take in carbon dioxide. That’s better for us! Today, 39% of New Zealand’s land is filled with a forest. Of that, only 29% is native. We should try to make that number bigger. 

In conclusion, we need native plants. Otherwise they will go out of existence. That would not be good for us. First we have to stop all the bad things we are doing. Then try to do more things to help. More plants is good for us as well. So, if you still feel like what’s the point in doing all this, think of this: If you do this, we have cleaner air. Cleaner air for us is healthier. I would like the Auckland Council to create a big project and go around all of Auckland to plant as many native trees, bushes and plants as possible. I hope this works and helps.