PHOTO
Giving it his all, Craig Turner digs a hole for a totara seedling during a native tree planting session in Karitane on Saturday.
About 35 volunteers from the Waikouaiti and Karitane communities joined members of the Ki uta ki (From the Mountains to the Sea programme) to plant the native trees along the tidal arm of the Waikouaiti River Estuary.
Co-ordinator Patti Vanderburg said during the year more than 25,000 native plants and trees had been planted along a 7km stretch of the Waikouaiti River catchment, riparian and estuarine margins.
Plantings helped improve water quality and helped maintain and enhance biodiversity, Ms Vanderburg said.