Taita College students do the hard environmental mahi

Earlier this week, Taita College students and Greater Wellington Regional Council staff got stuck in planting 1000 trees and shrubs at Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River in a positive effort to regenerate native bush alongside the river.

Greater Wellington river ranger, Travis Moody says, "It was great to have Taita College students back at the river helping with native revegetation work - there was a lot of hard work involved in planting trees into the stony ground, so we're absolutely proud of their effort to get the job done.

"These planting days are a vital initiative to restoring indigenous vegetation in our river corridors; creating habitat and food sources for native biodiversity, and enabling positive community engagement."

The locally sourced native species, which include rimu, tо̄tara, mataī, rewarewa and rata, will take pride of place in the river corridor for many generations to come if they establish successfully.

Greater Wellington councillor, Josh van Lier says, "We rely on the community's eagerness and involvement to help bring these events to life, which ultimately enhance the area for the whole community to enjoy.

"Other than planting days, young people are getting involved with more environmental activities. In partnership with other councils and volunteer groups, students are increasingly taking an active interest in wetland restoration, water monitoring and environmental science projects - as the evidence grows showing urgent action in these spaces is needed," adds Cr van Lier.

To keep up to date with nearby environmental events, subscribe to Greater Wellington's bi-weekly community newsletter, Tātou Rohe.