More trees being planted for the WWI Memorial Forest

With the planting season coming into full swing, we're gearing up to get more trees in the ground for our Council's World War One Memorial Forest.

Four sites are being prepared now in different parts of the Coromandel for planting over the coming weeks.

The eventual goal is to have 18,166 native trees in up to 10 different sites across the Coromandel - one tree for each New Zealander killed in the Great War.

Each site represents a particular battle or campaign or an aspect of the war, such as Gallipoli, Passchendaele or "Supreme Sacrifice".

The groves of native trees will mature into quiet places of contemplation where people can walk and ponder New Zealand history. The forests will also enhance the Coromandel's environmental values.

The project was officially launched by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry on 5 June - Arbour Day, when 100 trees were planted at the Cathedral Cove site, which represents the Gallipoli campaign.

That site will eventually have 2,779 trees - one for each soldier killed in New Zealand's first major battle of the war.

Our Council is working with Wintec horticulture students to get 1,400 trees planted there this year.

Two signature trees were planted at Anzac Day ceremonies at the new Mercury Bay cemetery, at Tairua's RSA cemetery and in Whangamata, but the Gallipoli site is the only one where mass planting has taken place.

Three other sites will see hundreds more trees planted this winter.

In Whangamata, the local RSA, Lions and local schoolchildren are planning to plant trees on 22 Julyat the site on the reserve opposite Moana House at the northern entrance to town that represents the Battle of Le Quesnoy. The date will shift if it is raining.

A total of 122 trees is to be planted by 4 November, the anniversary of the 1918 battle.

On 30 July at the Hauraki Rd wastewater treatment site in in Coromandel Town, 50 trees will be planted in conjunction with Coromandel Area School and the Enviroschools programme, with a total of 1,000 trees of mixed species including totara, matai and kahikatea to be planted this season. This site will represent "Supreme Sacrifice".

In early August, 249 trees are to be planted at Rhodes Park to commemorate the war dead of Thames. The date is not yet confirmed.

And, on 5 September, the Hikuai Trust is planning to plant 200 trees on Tangitarori Lane in Pauanui, the site commemorating the Sinai-Palestine campaign. Another 440 trees are to be planted there this season.

Get involved in the project

We're asking people to please help the project by donating $100 to the cost of a tree or by joining in on the plantings, or both. You can also choose to donate $150 and plant the tree yourself.

There are three ways to donate:

•You can dedicate the tree to a specific NZ soldier who was killed in the war. That tree gets planted in the Memorial Forest site dedicated to that particular battle or campaign.
•You can dedicate a tree to the "unknown soldier";
•In these two cases you receive a memorial certificate that includes the GPS co-ordinates of the tree you've donated.
•Or, you can gift a tree on behalf of your family without necessarily having a specific soldier in mind who was killed in the war. You'll receive a memorial certificate but no GPS location.

To donate please go to www.tcdc.govt.nz/donatetree

Our Council is working on the Memorial Forest project with schools, iwi, RSAs, service clubs, Wintec, community groups and agencies including the Department of Conservation and Waikato Regional Council.

There are still lots of opportunity to get involved, contact our Economic Development Programme Manager Ben Dunbar-Smith on 07 868 0200 or email at ben.dunbar-smith@tcdc.govt.nz

For more information on the New Zealand World War One Memorial Forest and all its sites across our District, see www.tcdc.govt.nz/ww1memorialforest

ENDS

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