Horizons Regional Council/Living Legends

Thursday 29 September, 2011

Taking conservation to new heights

Conservation reached new heights today with help from army and air force personnel who airlifted 5,000 native plants to the top of the Manawatu Gorge Scenic Reserve for Saturday’s Living Legends planting.

The Manawatu muck-in is part of a nationwide Living Legends project to plant 85,000 native plants in 17 different locations during the Rugby World Cup 2011.

Horizons Regional Council environmental programme coordinator Aaron Madden has been working closely with representatives from the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Living Legends to select the planting site and organise logistics.

“The site is inaccessible by motor vehicle which has proved quite a challenge and it’s also very steep.

“We had to look at other avenues to get the plants up there, so I approached the air force and we managed to get an Iroquois helicopter free of charge to help us lift the plants in.

“Without the help of the air force and army, transporting the plants would have been a pretty arduous task, so we’re extremely grateful for their help and the help received from other organisations in the lead up to Saturday’s Living Legends planting”, he said.

One such organisation is the Department of Corrections All 5,000 holes at the site have been dug by Linton Prison’s labour gang and prisoners from Whanganui prison cultivated the plants from seeds collected in the Gorge area.

Around 350 volunteers have registered to assist with the Manawatu Living Legends planting, where they will dig in alongside local rugby legend Sam Strahan to plant the native trees and shrubs.

DOC community relations programme manager Margaret Metcalf says volunteers include Girl Guides, Lions’ Club members and members of local rugby clubs.

“A lot of these people have never been involved in planting events before, so we’re really looking forward to working with them on Saturday”, she said.

The Manawatu Gorge site was selected for the Living Legends planting as part of the Manawatu Gorge Biodiversity Project.

This project is a major initiative involving local authorities, transport agencies, community organisations and individual landowners. It has a vision to raise the dramatic Gorge landscape to a model of restoration for biodiversity and recreation at a national and international level.

Saturday’s planting will not be affected by road closures as all volunteers will be transported by bus from pick-up points in Ashhurst and Palmerston North.

Living Legends is a joint venture of Project Crimson, an environmental charity with 20 years experience in community-based native restoration projects, and the Tindall Foundation. Major sponsors are DOC and Meridian Energy.

It is also part of the REAL NZ Festival – a celebration of New Zealand arts, food, wine, heritage, culture, entertainment, business and lifestyle taking part during Rugby World Cup 2011.

The Meridian People’s Choice Award invites everyone to nominate their own number one rugby legend. Enter online at www.livinglegends.co.nz and be in to win an adventure escape to Queenstown.

For more information about this or any of the Living Legend events visit www.livinglegends.co.nz

ENDS

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