After a week of heavy rain, 30 enthusiastic Kaitiaki awoke on Thursday 13th May to be greeted by bright blue skies – a simply perfect day to head out to the Ness Valley near Clevedon for their day of planting. As part of the Trees for Survival programme that our Green Gold Enviro school takes part in, it was time to plant the 800 native trees we had been looking after since September 2020.
On an annual basis we receive hundreds of seedlings of Flax, Mahoe, Manuka, Karamu and Cabbage Trees. For many weeks the Kaitiaki, who are the caretakers of our environment, had spent two lunchtimes a week moving the little seedlings from their growing trays into much bigger growing bags. The warm summer months had encouraged the seedlings to grow to between 40-60cm, and it was now time to plant them in their countryside setting.
The excited group of 30 Senior School students were joined by 8 parents, including two Board of Trustees members, and four members of staff, led by Mrs Babette Maas and Mrs Marjorie Parkes.
Following a quick instruction and safety briefing, all were keen to get stuck in. We were very lucky that many of the holes had been pre-prepared by the land owner with an auger drill. In addition, the students were grateful to have proper hard-wearing gloves donated by Palmers Garden Centre in Pakuranga.
All were very dedicated to the task, which meant that by late morning we had planted all of the plants. This meant that there was time to explore the property, run and roll around in the high grass and also check on the growth of the trees we had planted 2 years ago.
Once we returned from our explorations, a very welcome lunch was served, as well as some delicious chocolate bars as a treat! Early afternoon the group got back on the bus, feeling very satisfied with the job they had completed.
Later this year we will receive our next lot of seedlings, and the process will start all over again. Well done Kaitiaki – you did a great job helping with the regeneration of native trees and shrubs. Thank you also to the parents, for making themselves available to join us for the day.
