Students Connect with Nature

Over 100 students from Morrinsville Intermediate, along with parents and teachers, rolled up their sleeves and planted over 700 trees on a property in Tauhei – helping to restore unproductive farmland to native forest.

As is typical of autumn weather in the Waikato, the fog hung around until nearly midday, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the students, with plenty of chatter and lots of laughter heard throughout the day.

The students enjoyed the opportunity to get outdoors and get their hands dirty, with one student commenting, “I didn’t think I’d like planting trees, but I love it!”

The students worked so efficiently that they even had time to help “release” last year’s plantings from surrounding weeds. This maintenance step is crucial in any restoration project, as weeds compete with young plants for sunlight, water, and nutrients. While herbicides can be used, the students took the manual approach — gently clearing weeds away by hand to give each plant space to thrive.

The hard mahi didn’t go unnoticed. The landowners showed their appreciation by providing delicious homemade baking for everyone. No mean feat baking that many chocolate chip biscuits!

For Piako Waihou Catchment Trust, this planting day wasn’t just about getting trees in the ground; it was an opportunity to connect young people with nature and prepare the next generation to be kaitiaki of te taiao – guardians of our environment. One student, reflecting on the environmental impact of small actions taken by many, posed the question, “What if every kid in New Zealand planted a tree?”

As with all successful community projects, this day wouldn’t have been possible without teamwork. A huge thank you to the team at Morrinsville Intermediate and Greta from Waikato Enviroschools for the exceptional planning and facilitation, and to Penny from Matamata Piako District Council for supporting the students with planting.

Thanks also to NZ Landcare Trust and Keep Te Aroha Beautiful for supplying spades, and to Mitre 10 Morrinsville for donating gloves.