Les Batkin Reserve in Tuakau is now home to more than 1000 native plants, thanks to the hard work of Tuakau Primary School students and volunteers.
The planting day, organised by Waikato District Council in collaboration with Waikato Regional Council, Enviroschools and CityCare, took place on 14 June. Students and volunteers from Tuakau Primary School braved the crisp Waikato day to help out, putting more than 1000 plants into the ground.
With a variety of native plant species in hand, the students and volunteers got stuck into the hard mahi and ended with a great result for their efforts.
“Les Batkin Reserve will now see a future of great biodiversity that will house a new native species dominated habitat,” says Ecological Planner at Waikato District Council, Ben Wolf. The students were able to walk away with a sense of pride in knowing they contributed to that and will be able to return to the reserve throughout the years to come to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Lead Environmental Education Facilitator at Waikato Regional Council, Adrienne Grant, says it was great to see so many people involved.
“A few days later and I’m still buzzing about the day. Having 80 young children on site to be involved in planting these trees is significant, and it was a big effort for the school and the Council to organise. It was a first for the school who are really looking for ways to strengthen their connection to Papatuanuku and how they can make a difference in the community.”
“For many of the children and adults, this was the first time they had ever planted a tree,” says Adrienne. “Many of these trees will still be around in 500 years' time.”
“You could see the joy on the children’s faces – it was a great day out for everyone. It’s a day they will never forget.”
Projects like this are held annually by Council in collaboration with Waikato Regional Council, Enviroschools and Citycare, throughout the district with various schools. This helps promote a healthy biodiverse environment and encourage learnings and partnerships with local communities around the benefits in creating and maintaining thriving native species dominated environments. If you’d like to get involved, be sure to keep an eye out at your local school and our Facebook page.
