Waikino School students and volunteers recently planted 1790 plants at the Waikino Domain.
The event was one of many tree-planting projects throughout the Hauraki district recently, supported by Hauraki District Council in collaboration with volunteers from community groups such as HELP (Habitat Enhancement Landcare Protection) and Waikato Regional Council’s Enviroschools programme.
Other recent projects include volunteers and students from Paeroa schools planting 350 trees alongside the Aorangi stream and a two-year Trees that Count research project at council’s Millennium Forest in Waihī.
To help fund the projects, council secured $10,000 from the Waikato Regional Council’s Environmental Initiatives Fund, on behalf of Paeroa’s Streamcare and the Waikino Domain Committee.
Council’s parks and reserves team also provided support in the form of equipment, plants, labour and maintenance for the community-led initiatives.
Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams said the government used the information gathered at the Millenium Forest research project to help set its policy for carbon credits.
“It’s well-known that planting trees is one of the best ways to offset carbon dioxide emissions,” he said.
“But this research has helped determine how much carbon is absorbed and how many trees are needed.”
