Freemasons are getting their hands dirty helping school children plant thousands of trees to help prevent erosion.

The Freemasons Foundation has made a substantial donation to the schools-based Trees for Survival programme that grows and plants native trees along waterways and on erosion-prone hillsides.

As well as this financial support, Freemasons are also being encouraged to work with local schools to actively help with the planting, thus working in the community on two levels.

Foundation Chair, Mark Winger, says the organisation has a strong charitable and community focus and this is another avenue for Freemasons to step up.

“We see Trees for Survival as an extremely valuable hands-on programme that helps today’s young people better understand and appreciate the environment.

“And as a Foundation, we take great pride and delight in helping young people to study and achieve at the highest levels. That’s why we donate between $1 and $1.5 million each year to the areas of research, education, culture and community health.”

Trees for Survival is an environmental education programme that involves young school children growing and planting native trees to restore natural habitats and help control soil erosion.

It is active in 141 NZ schools with over 5,000 NZ school children involved.

National Manager, Dennis Millard, said the Foundation’s donation is ‘significant’ and will add immense value to the programme.

“Our programme offers so much more than ticking the carbon-credit box: we are out there with school-children, local community and sponsors, doing educational and practical environmental restoration work through native tree plantings.

“A donation like the Foundation’s means more children can grow their knowledge of the natural environment, and feel part of a larger environmental restoration effort through the planting of thousands more native trees.”

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