Totara Trees for planting

Two hundred totara trees are to be planted at Kaitoke Regional Park on September 18th and the public are invited to adopt one of the trees.

Totara are forest giants belonging to the podocarp family and live for centuries, reaching heights of over 30m after a hundred years. Maori used them to build canoes.

Greater Wellington Parks and Forests Manager Murray Waititi said people could plant a totara to mark a special event of some kind – a wedding or anniversary, a child’s birth, a passing of life, a significant achievement such as quitting smoking, or completing a marathon.

The cost is $30 for the totara and a certificate including the reason for planting, and would include looking after the totara with mulching and weed control while it establishes. The offer is limited to 200 totara.

Murray said the totara were all raised from seed sourced within the Kaitoke Regional Park, north of Upper Hutt.

Burial of people or placenta, or the spreading of ashes is not permitted within Regional Parks.

To register, contact Catherine Hunt, Parks & Forests, Greater Wellington, ph 384 5708 or email catherine.hunt@gw.govt.nz

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