Horotiu’s planting superstars

Dozens of happy kids rolled up their sleeves to be part of another huge community effort for the Horotiu School Planting Day last week.

In its seventh year, the day saw nearly 1200 seedlings planted to help restore native vegetation beside the Waikato awa. The day is a partnership between a range of teams across the district, planting a section of Te Awa River Ride near Sullivan Road.  

“There were between 70 and 100 kids at last week’s planting and it was great to see the enthusiasm yet again,“ said Waikato District Council Events Officer, Teresa Lange. “Some of them have helped out for several years in a row now, so they’re planting veterans!”

The event is coordinated by Waikato District Council, with help from Horotiu Primary School and Ngaaruawaahia police. The event helps support the work that Enviroschools Aotearoa at Waikato Regional Council undertakes in schools throughout the district to raise understanding around planting and biodiversity.   Additional support came from City Care, who helped prep the site and delivered plants, with Cushman and Wakefield providing much needed hot Milo and extra helping hands.

“We’re closing in on a total of 10,000 plants from this initiative over the years, and you can already see the difference that this new vegetation is making”, says Enviroschools Facilitator Adrienne Grant. “Horotiu School and the local community can be really proud of what they’ve achieved.”

These photos show our hardworking planters on the day, along with updates on how previous planting is taking shape.