Pupils help plant hundreds of trees in Coromandel town

Pupils from Coromandel Area School pitched in with Environment Waikato and Department of Conservation staff to plant about 300 trees earlier this month as part of a major restoration project on a DoC reserve beside Hauraki Rd in Coromandel Town.

The native plants were supplied under a national scheme which sees Honda donate funds to buy 10 trees for every new car sold. Under the scheme, administered in the Waikato by EW, trees linked to individual car sales are planted in the region where the purchaser comes from.

This is the second planting day at the Hauraki Rd site following an initial planting three years ago, said EW Peninsula Project land management officer Matt Highway.

“A focus this time was on weed suppression and enhancing the survival of plants in a weedy site.

“Students and teachers were supplied with old woollen carpet which was cut into to squares to put around the plants as weed suppression, as well as keep moisture in the soil over summer. The woollen carpet is a natural product and rots down in a few years.”

Another 300 trees are due to be planted next month.