Community planting days are a great chance to head out to a beautiful location, get your hands dirty and enjoy a morning in the fresh air. You will see first hand where plants from the nursery end up and help to restore our native biodiversity & mitigate climate change, one plant at a time.
Absolutely everyone is welcome, and no experience is required as our core volunteers will show you step by step how to plant a tree to ensure each plant has the best chance of survival in a non-garden setting.
Planting days are a great way to take tangible action for our local environment, leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.
WHAT TO BRING: Gardening gloves, shovel (if you have one), sturdy footwear, water, sunscreen & a hat.
Keystone Site Planting Days
Our Keystone Sites are large, multi-year planting projects on public land. Our vision is to create wildlife corridors that will, in turn, attract native birds, lizards & invertebrates back into the basin, significantly enhancing the biodiversity of the region. This autumn we invite our community to help us to plant a further 5000 natives that have been grown by volunteers at our Community Nursery throughout the year.
All planting days are drop-in style between 9am – 12 noon.
Sat 2nd September – Whitechapel Reserve, Whitechapel Road, Arrow Junction (followed by Community BBQ). Parking: adjacent to planting site.
Sat 9th September – Lake Hayes Pavilion. Parking at Lake Hayes Pavilion or Lake Hayes Rowing Club
Sat 16th September– Slope Hill Road (tributary of Mill Creek) – access off Speargrass Flat Road. Planting site is next to the bike trail, approximately 1km along Slope Hill Road (access ONLY from the Speargrass Flat Rd). Parking : look for WRT flag on the left.
Sat 30th September – Bush Creek, Arrowtown, behind the Chinese Village. Parking area next to The Dishery.
New to volunteer planting days? Here’s what to expect on the day…
When you arrive, look for the green Whakatipu Reforestation Trust flag where a team member wearing a hi-viz vest will greet you and direct you to the registration table to sign in and receive a health and safety briefing.
After sign in you will receive training on the whole planting process, so no prior experience is required.
A volunteer will show you how to:
- dig a hole (or plant directly into a pre-dug hole)
- remove plants from their bags
- place weed mats
- install plant guards and bamboo canes
All of the plants, plant guards, and bamboo stakes will have already been distributed around the planting site. You can simply look around and find some plants that are ready to be dug in and start planting. Volunteers are welcome to take lots of photos and selfies and spread awareness of planting days and WRT’s work in the community!
WRT will also be taking photos throughout the event. If someone in hi-viz asks to take your photo, please feel free to either give them your best smile, or let them know if you would rather not have your photo taken. They respect that not everyone wants to end up in their FB and Insta posts!
Morning tea, including hot drinks, provided courtesy of Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa | Crowne Plaza Queenstown.
