This was a fantastic day out with great weather and plenty of happy faces! The event saw an impressive turnout of volunteers, all eager to make a difference. In just over two hours, 2,500 trees were planted.
This was a fantastic day out with great weather and plenty of happy faces! The event saw an impressive turnout of volunteers, all eager to make a difference. In just over two hours, 2,500 trees were planted, transforming the landscape and contributing significantly to the local ecosystem. The spirit of camaraderie was palpable as people of all ages worked together, sharing smiles and stories while getting their hands dirty for a good cause.
A huge thank you goes out to Mahu Whenua Open Space Covenants and the QEII National Trust for allowing the Arrowtown Choppers to plant on their beautiful land.
The Trust works with landowners to set up protective covenants. Think of a covenant as a legal agreement between the landowner and the Trust. It says that the landowner will agree to take care of the special features of the land, like the forest or wetland, and the Trust helps ensure it's protected "in perpetuity" - which means forever!
Being in close proximity to First Light Travel's offices in Queenstown and Arrowtown, we were thrilled to offer support to the 'Arrowtown Choppers.' This dedicated group focuses on removing wilding pines above Arrowtown—hence their name 'Choppers'—and replacing them with native Beech, Ribbonwood, and Totara trees to enhance the area's biodiversity.
The 'Arrowtown Choppers' is a collaborative project supported by the Arrowtown local community and local businesses including First Light Travel and New Zealand Trails. The project is a significant part of our strategy as a tourism business to The project is a significant part of our strategy as a tourism business to offset carbon emissions and contribute to New Zealand's natural beauty!
As the forest develops, the carbon captured in the trees and soil will help offset our carbon dioxide emissions. The current plan is to plant and nurture over 100,000 seedlings for the foreseeable future. Volunteers will plant around 5000 trees per year.
Volunteers at the new Arrowtown Community Plant Nursery are nurturing these plants, and FLT is honored to be the nursery's primary financial supporter.
This collaboration represents a novel approach to reforestation and education, where the indigenous biodiversity of the land will be restored while providing a range of benefits to the community.
First Light Travel and our sister company New Zealand Trails are committed to reducing our environmental footprint. Our carbon measurement and offset program to date has allowed us to plant over 3000 native Beech trees.
Whilst it is a long term strategy (yep trees will outlive us all), a mature Beech tree (Nothofagus species) can store around 22 kg of CO2 annually.
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