Four years ago when the Missing Wingman Trust approached Manawatū District Council about creating a living memorial to honour past and present New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel and their families, James Adamson knew the perfect spot.
“Mount Stewart falls within the flight path for Ōhakea, and it just so happened to have mature trees, ready to be logged on council-owned land,” said Adamson, the council’s community assets liaison.
The site was earmarked for the project, with the revenue of the logging providing funding to kick-start the project.
Landscape architect Rebecca Wilson took the space and created a multi-year project on paper that incorporated native plants, trees, walking paths, a swing, and steps etched with the poem High Flight.
“On Friday, August 16, the largest planting event for the project thus far took place, and it was all hands on deck as over 5000 plants, many grown by the council’s own Kawakawa Nursery, went into the ground, completely changing the project from one in construction to one with life,” said Adamson.