Good turnout for planting day

Volunteers of all ages took to the track at Lake Hayes to extend the existing Lake Hayes Project Gold site on a clear and crisp morning in late April.

The Queenstown Climbing Club started its Project Gold site at the base of the main Wye Creek climbing wall on the same Saturday.

Project Gold was a Department of Conservation (Doc) community planting project which aimed to re-establish kowhai woodlands throughout Otago.

Doc community relations ranger Susie Geh said there were 10 active Project Gold sites in the Wakatipu with more than 400 kowhai trees in the ground and associated shrubs at each site. The sites were spread throughout Queenstown, Arrowtown, Glenorchy and the Wye Creek area.

The southwest side of the Lake Hayes Track was the first Project Gold site in the Wakatipu, with a successful launch back in September 2011. During the weekend 50 kowhai trees were added to the 150 already there, as well as more than 100 supporting shrub species.

"Doc staff joined with about 15 community members, some as young as 2 years old, to get the plants into the ground on the Saturday morning," Ms Geh said.

"The Queenstown Climbing Club planted 36 native trees, including 10 kowhai.

"A total of 11 club members worked hard for five hours, said they enjoyed the day."

Project Gold was sponsored by Kiwi Discovery.

If anyone wanted to become involved in the initiative, or learn more about it, they could contact Susie Geh at the Doc Wakatipu area office on (03) 442-7933.