Thousands of trees and native plants are about to be planted around the Whakatipu.
This weekend, 4000 new trees are going in at Coronet Peak, as part of one of New Zealand’s largest restoration projects.
Led by national conservation charity Trees That Count, in partnership with Soho Property landowners and iwi-led environmental charity Te Tapu o Tāne, 350,000 native trees will eventually be planted across the mountain’s front face.
The call’s gone out for vollies to help this Saturday and Sunday — anyone keen can either do half days, from 10am till noon or 1-3pm, or full days 10am to 3pm; a ‘‘brown bag lunch’’ will be provided, along with transport to and from cars.
Meantime, the first of four Whakatipu Reforestation Trust keystone community planting days is happening on Saturday, at Arrow Junction’s Whitechapel Reserve.
It’s one of several public keystone sites, for which the trust has multi-year planting projects, aiming to create wildlife corridors which will, in turn, attract native birds, lizards and invertebrates back to the Basin.
The planting day’s being held from 9am till noon, and will include a barbecue lunch.
Vollies are asked to bring gardening gloves, if possible a shovel, sturdy footwear, sunscreen and a hat.
Subsequent keystone planting days will be at the Lake Hayes Pavilion on April 13, Arrowtown’s Bush Creek on April 20 and Slope Hill Rd, accessed off Speargrass Flat Rd, on April 27.
Additionally, the Arrowtown Choppers are holding their annual Arrowtown Beech Planting Day on April 7, from 9am till noon, planning to plant 3000 native beech, totara and ribbonwood trees on the slopes above Bush Creek.
Vollies can meet at the Arrowtown Chinese Village site.
