Conservation Fund backs school's tree planting day

The Team from Momentum Waikato

A recent tree planting mission by the kids of Walton School was made possible through a grant from our Waikato Hauraki Conservation Fund.

The folks at Holthuizer Farm applied to the Fund for support to protect its waterways and enhance its biodiversity, with the specific intent of including children in the effort.

Farmer Dale Beker says the school's planting day was a huge success, with 40 kids planting 700 natives along a stretch of the Piako River.

In preparation Dale and her team moved the fence back 10m+ from the river, and engaged Restore Native Plant Nursery to drone map the area to estimate plant numbers and advise on weed control and species selection.

"We purchased over 200 plants from the Walton School nursery, which our PTA runs with the senior kids, and another 500 from Restore Native and the Waikato Ecological Restoration Trust," says Dale.

The Waikato Hauraki Conservation Fund is a ‘funding gap-filler’ that supports predator control and restoration planting projects across the region. It was kickstarted by a significant donation from Dianne and Selwyn June in 2021, who participate in its grantmaking decisions, and then boosted by a donation from the estate of the late John and Bunny Mortimer, who established the Taitua Arboretum.

Donations to the Waikato Hauraki Conservation Fund are most welcome, as they help grow the ongoing investment income it uses to support local conservation work by voluntary groups and landowners.

To find out more and donate, click the button below.