About 80 people gathered on a sunny spot overlooking the harbour in Roseneath yesterday to take part in Trees for Babies - Celebrating Families.
It was the 11th time the event, organised by Keep Dunedin Beautiful and the Rotary Club of Dunedin, had been held but the first time the trees had been planted in Roseneath Reserve.
Keep Dunedin Beautiful co-ordinator Darlene Thomson said the occasion was ''all about acknowledging people''.
''We have a family from England that plant a tree for their family. We have lots for remembering people and lots for babies,'' she said.
For Jimmy McLauchlan and Emma-Jane Stanley, of Port Chalmers, it was about the proverbial and literal setting down of roots.
The couple relocated to Port Chalmers recently and wanted to mark the occasion and the birth of their first child, Ramona, eight weeks ago with a tree.
''We don't know where we will end up but at least we will have this tree,'' Miss Stanley said.
Rotary Club of Dunedin president Andy Kilsby said the group had spent about two months preparing the site for its Trees for Babies - Celebrating Families debut.
The site ''speaks for itself'', he said.
''I'm sure it's a spot that the families that are here today will come back to.''
