Slider picture shows little growth on Cavenagh St shade structure

FOR the first time, a slider tool has been used on pictures of the Cavenagh St shade structure, showing just how little the vines have grown in more than 800 days

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FOR the first time, a slider tool has been used on pictures of the Cavenagh St shade structure, showing just how little the vines have grown in more than 800 days.

In November, an evaluation showed the structure was supposedly making the area “cooler” despite barely breaking through the canopy, according to early data from a government-ordered research study.

But, as can be seen in the slider above, the vines have barely stretched beyond their vertical posts years after they were first planted.

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At the time, Infrastructure Minister Eva Lawler declined to say if the government would consider uprooting and switching the vines at the Cavenagh Street site in the event the shade structures being built at Cullen Bay are more successful.

The NT government in September 2020, after being asked to explain why the Cavenagh Street shade structure still looked sparse two years after being built, revealed “overzealous pruning” and a common infestation at the start of the project was partly to blame.

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In November, Ms Lawler said the vines on Cavenagh Street were “growing well and healthy” and was optimistic that an “impending good wet season” would result in “further coverage”.

Under the government’s own target, the shade structure was meant to be covered in vines by May 2020.