Picnic planned to celebrate success of tree-planting project
An invitation to a picnic has gone out to the people who helped to plant 1991 native trees in a New Plymouth reserve 33 years ago.
Those little saplings have grown into a forest of kauri, tōtara and kahikatea that cloaks a steep hillside between Waimea St, Pembroke St and Frankley Rd.
On Saturday, members of the New Plymouth Central Lions Club will fire up their barbecues to cook sausages, which they hope to share with some of the families involved in the project when it began.
The flourishing trees are in an area known variously as Waimea Stream Reserve, Salaman Simpson Reserve and more recently Founders Plantation.
The club has been looking after the forest for four years in partnership with the New Plymouth District Council.
“We want to get people to come and share some of their stories,” project co-ordinator Roger Malthus said.
He hopes it will become an annual event. The planting project in 1991 was organised by the Merrilands Lions Club (which no longer operates) to commemorate 150 years since the establishment of the colonial settlement of New Plymouth at Ngāmotu by surveyor Frederick Carrington in 1841.
“The club advertised the trees to the public at $40 each and sold them all within 12 months. They raised over $70,000; everyone fronted up and planted the trees,” Malthus said. “My family planted three trees, one for each child and one for my former wife and myself.”
Unfortunately, the club has not been able to locate records of who planted which tree, he said.
“We would love to know whether there is a map or grid reference in existence that shows where people planted their trees.”
Since the club got involved, there had been many working bees to remove weeds and invasive trees, and to plant more natives, fellow project co-ordinator Charles Thurston said.
This winter, the club plans to plant 40 more kahikatea trees. t was also seeking funding to remove some exotic trees that were hampering the growth of the natives, Thurston said.
Two large stainless steel monuments in the reserve are engraved with names of individuals, families, societies and businesses who donated trees and helped to plant them. A plaque beside the monuments has the inscription: “We leave these trees for our children and all future citizens of this beautiful city.”