Join planting day
The young leaders of Kids Greening Taupo¯ will be running their first community planting day at Spa Park on Saturday, August 12.
To celebrate, they’re inviting children and their families and friends to come along and help dig in more than 800 native plants and learn more about their restoration plans for the park.
Over the past few years Greening Taupo¯ has organised numerous planting days around the district, but this will be the first ever planting day organised by the Kids Greening Taupo¯ student leadership team. Currently students from three schools and two kindergartens are involved with Kids Greening Taupo¯: Tauhara College, Taupo¯ Primary, Waipahihi School, Four Seasons Kindergarten and Central Kids Kindergarten.
The planting day has been organised by students from the three member schools, and this greening day marks the start of a long-term project between Kids Greening Taupo¯ and Taupo¯ District Council, to create more ecological corridors in Spa Park to increase the native flora and fauna living there.
Tauhara College conservation student leaders India Wiltsher, and Ani Maniapoto Tapp, both 15, say Kids Greening Taupo¯ has been meeting monthly at Spa Park to assess its current planting and wildlife and work out how they want it to look and work in the future.
The Tauhara leaders split into task groups to plan and prepare for the planting day, and say the aim is to encourage public involvement in the wider works of Greening Taupo¯.
“We’ve done it so we can bring the community together and they can plant trees and help the environment,” says India. “Everyone can be involved and feel like they’re doing something for the environment.”
Ani says one of the main reasons for being involved is so families can bring their kids and see conservation in action. “Kids and adults can change the world. We want to create a better future for the new generation by helping the environment. We hope it’s carried on.”
The Kids Greening Taupo¯ planting day starts at 11am at Spa Park and the planting area is in the gully to the left of the children’s playground, accessible from the bottom car park. Attendees are asked to bring their gumboots, spades, and if they have one, a wheelbarrow or large bucket to help dig in and mulch plants. The student leaders will be demonstrating good planting practice and a sausage sizzle will be provided at the end. Staff volunteers from the Westervelt Company will be digging planting holes before the day and helping out on Saturday as part of their staff community day.
Kids Greening Taupo¯ community planting day, Spa Park, Saturday, August 12, 11am.