Arrowtown Community Tree Nursery

First Light Travel is the major sponsor of the newly created Arrowtown Community Tree Nursery. The aim is to grow seedlings that will adapt easily to the local landscape - providing revegetation to the hills around Arrowtown. This land had fallen prey to wilding pines - which grassroots local community organisation the Arrowtown Choppers has made its mission to restore to native forest.

Del Gorton at the ground breaking at Tewa Banks Community Housing

Where is the nursery located?

The plant nursery is going to be located on what will become a reserve (park) and adventure playground for a new affordable housing development on the edge of Arrowtown. Use of the land is through agreement with the community housing trust and the local council.

As the nursery will be volunteer run, community involvement is key to its success, making this the perfect setting. It also makes it convenient for the local school. Getting kids involved in growing and planting is a big part of what the nursery will be about.

Being in a residential setting does, however, mean the nursery needs to look good as well as produce lots of great plants. So the team is investing in proper fencing and the potting shed will be something you’d be happy to have in your back yard. The aim is to make it a place where the community is happy to come along and help out, and something they can be proud of.

What will the nursery grow?

The main species grown will reflect the local indigenous landscape. Seedlings of Red Beech, Mountain Beech, Kowhai, Broadleaf and Totara trees will on average be raised at the nursery for two years. By the time they are planting out they are approximately 50cm tall, protected by a planting shield and hopefully acclimatised the local growing conditions.

Once up and running, this nursery will be growing the incredible number of 10,000 native trees a year to help regenerate the hills around Arrowtown.

Revegatating the Arrowtown Hills

Many revegetation projects practice the concept of eco-sourcing seeds from the local area. This means that the plants grown will be genetically adapted to the local environment and have a better chance of surviving and thriving.

Arrowtown is a particularly tough climate - cold in winter and hot and dry in summer. The plants that do best are the ones that are from here and have been grown in local conditions.

Growing the plants reduces the cost as the nursery won’t have to pay others to grow the trees for us. Less cost means we can grow more trees. This is greatly helped by all the volunteers from the local community who give up their time and skills to grow, tend and then plant out the trees.

The nursery will be fully built and operational in the spring (Oct/Nov) of 2024, and ready to take advantage of the summer growing period.