Children plant for future

Planting native trees for Conservation Week are Queenstown Primary School pupils (from left) Tylah Lavinia (6), Jemima McKay (6), Katherine Read (6) and Tom Busst (6), all of Queenstown, with Ziptrek Ecotours sales and marketing manager Nicky Busst and managing director Trent Yeo.

Ziptrek Ecotours joined forces with the enthusiastic children of Queenstown Primary School yesterday to plant native trees for Conservation Week.

The adventure ecotourism operation united with Wanaka Wastebusters and the Queenstown Lakes District Council to support the Paper4trees initiative in 16 schools and pre-schools in the district.

Staff members dug holes in empty flower beds at each end of the school car park, then 45 gloved pupils, from new entrants to year 6, gleefully set about planting the young trees and patting down the soil.

A total of 45 Queenstown Primary School pupils plant 34 native trees with help from Ziptrek Ecotours staff yesterday for Conservation Week. Photo by James Beech.

Ziptrek said it aimed to counteract the introduced Douglas firs which supported the company's tree-houses, which connected its zip-lines in the tree canopy.

Sales and marketing manager Nicky Busst said yesterday the operation gave $2 for each customer towards purchasing native beech trees during Conservation Week, which ends on Sunday.