Mulching at a Wicked Weeder session, a tuakana (bigger) student from Waipāhīhī School helping a teina (little) student from Hinemoa Kindergarten. Photo / Sian Moffitt
Mulching at a Wicked Weeder session, a tuakana (bigger) student from Waipāhīhī School helping a teina (little) student from Hinemoa Kindergarten. Photo / Sian Moffitt
It's the biggest built up to Arbor Day ever seen in Taupō.
In the past eight years a whopping 136,000 native trees have been planted in the Taupō District and this Friday, June 4, everyone is invited to plant 4000 more trees, taking the total up to 140,000 trees planted. Full credit for this achievement goes to Greening Taupō and Kids Greening Taupō.
Kids Greening Taupō co-ordinator Rachel Thompson says it is fitting to celebrate the milestone with a giant community planting day, the day before Arbor Day is officially celebrated in New Zealand on Saturday, June 5.
Many schools and early childhood centres are expected to attend. Coincidentally, five schools have a teachers' only day that day and Rachel says they hope lots of kids will come along with their families.
The event, billed "Let's Paint the Town Green" has resulted in such a huge amount of interest that Rachel says there is now an entire week of conservation activities planned for the Taupō District with all proceeds going directly towards not-for-profits Kids Greening Taupō and Greening Taupō, two conservation initiatives from Project Tongariro.
Restoration weeding at Motutahae (Cherry Island) by Taupō-nui-a-Tia College students. Photo / Sian Moffitt
"We rarely fundraise and we never charge for any of our services," says Rachel. Both organisations receive funding with main sponsors being Contact Energy Ltd, Bay Trust, Trees4Trees, and the Department of Conservation.
A long list of impressive achievements includes providing hundreds of hours of hands-on environmental education to schools and early childhood centres, close to 100 community events, and regular student and teacher workshops.
Rachel says everything Greening Taupō does is free, and says this is the one week they are asking the community to donate money and to give back.
She says they are also hoping to raise awareness of the work they do. Rachel says Kids Greening Taupō now works with every school in Taupō to support biodiversity through authentic conservation and restoration work. Greening Taupō has a goal to restore Taupō's native plant corridors, and bringing back the native birds, bugs and lizards.
"As beautiful as Taupō is, with its majestic mountains and sparkling lake, it is sadly lacking in native forests."
Lockdown provided valuable time to update the Kids Greening Taupō website, and Rachel says the organisation is now viewed as a New Zealand leader in free environmental education resources.
"Our website had 65,000 hits in the past year."
Kids Greening Taupō also actively promotes growing student leadership skills through an after school group, with 50 student leaders in the programme this year.
Ruud Kleinpaste and a student from Hinemoa Kindergarten look at a cockroach on the student's hand. Photo / Sian Moffitt
Rachel says a highlight is the entertaining annual workshop run by freelance entomologist Ruud Kleinpaste aka The Bug Man.
"He leaves everyone feeling inspired about exploring the outdoors," said Rachel.
Another highlight for student leaders is visiting Wairakei Golf + Sanctuary to see the baby kiwi in their incubators.
The upcoming celebrations were originally planned as one day of the community dressing in green and attending an Arbor Day planting. However, it has now ballooned into a week of celebrations.
Let's paint the town green
Shops within Taupō town centre are going to be decorated in green for the week, with some are taking on environmental projects. The winning store will get $500 to spend at a Town Centre Taupō Restaurant of their choice. Other businesses can do the same and share photos with the hashtag #GreeningTaupoDay to win $100 morning tea shout from L'Arte Cafe & Gallery, Victoria's Cafe Kitchen Bar, or The Cozy Corner.
Every school in Taupō town is taking part by running green mufti days, fundraising, and taking on environmental projects. Prizes are from AC Baths, The Possum Run, and Wildling Books. The three schools judged to show, "Best Green Spirit" will win $1000 to go towards native restoration planting, or hundreds of dollars worth of vouchers for products for restoration, planting or predator control.
Arbor Day planting event
Who: Kids Greening Taupō and Greening Taupō invite everyone.
What: Come along and help plant 4000 trees, lots of fun activities for children. Trev Terry Marine will be running a barbecue and The Bistro will be providing hot soup. DJ Alexi provide music for the day.
Where: Centennial Drive, beside the entrance to Taupō Golf Club
When: Friday June 4, 9.30am to 1pm
Info: All money raised will go towards allowing Greening Taupō and Kids Greening Taupō to continue their work. Go to www.kidsgreeningtaupo.org.nz/greening-taupo-day to learn more and sign up.
