Arbor Day 2024: Hamilton’s Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park celebrates 20th anniversary

A past Arbour Day in Hamilton. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Good things are growing in the Waikato as two districts prepare to mark Arbour Day tomorrow.

It will be a special event in Hamilton, as Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park will mark its 20th anniversary of planting and restoration at the site.

In celebration of this milestone, the heritage park, located within the Te Kaaroro Nature Precinct which includes Hamilton Zoo, will hold a three-day event from May 30 to June 1 that aims to plant 20,000 native plants.

Also part of the event is special guest Ruud Kleinpaste, also known as the ‘Bug Man’, who is hosting the Animal Planet series Buggin’ with Ruud.

Hamilton Zoo’s curator for natives and Waiwhakareke, Cheridan Mathers, said they’re very excited to have Ruud and his buggy buddies join them on Arbor Day.

Ruud Kleinpaste, known as the 'Bug Man', will be hosting the three days of Arbor Day planting in Hamilton. Photo / Hamilton City Council

“Arbor Day’s community planting is a great opportunity for everyone to come together to do their bit, learn why restoring native plants is so important, and have fun doing it,” she said.

The first two days of planting are dedicated to large numbers of schools and corporate groups.

Hamiltonians are invited to put on their gardening gloves and participate in the community planting day on Saturday, June 1, from 10am to 2pm.

Planters on Saturday will be rewarded for their efforts with a half-price discount for the on-site food truck Unique Food Geeks.

The Arbor Day planting is part of Hamilton City Council’s Nature in the City programme, which aims to increase Hamilton’s native vegetation cover from 2 per cent to 10 per cent by 2050.

Meanwhile, Thames-Coromandel District Council (TCDC) is also supporting Arbour Day initiatives.

“Council would like to hear from any community groups interested in receiving fruit trees to plant and maintain as part of an Arbor Day initiative [to] increase community access to fresh produce,” the council said in its newsletter.

Interested planters can email Kath at Kathleen.Makiri@tcdc.govt.nz with the subject line ‘Fruit’.

For further information about Arbor Day 2024, visit the Waiwhakareke and Hamilton Zoo Facebook pages.