From the House: Planting trees for future generations

Napier MP Stuart Nash. Photo / NZPA

OPINION
Kiwis have a proud history of celebrating Arbor Day, and we were one of the first countries in the world to hold a special day dedicated to planting trees.

Conservation is in our DNA. All the way back in 1890, residents of Greytown in the Wairarapa declared a holiday for tree planting, and soon after other similar community events were rolled out throughout New Zealand.

While we've been celebrating Arbor Day on June 5 for a while now, as Forestry Minister I've been especially keen to reinvigorate the day by supporting initiatives that will give communities and schools more resources to plant native trees.

Last Sunday was Arbor Day, and I had the opportunity to get my hands dirty by participating in a community planting event in Havelock North.

At the beautiful Te Mata Park I joined 200 other volunteers, and together we managed to plant 2000 native trees. On the day, I also announced new partnerships between our government and environmental organisations that will support native afforestation.

Through Te Uru Rākau–New Zealand Forest Service, we're partnering with Trees That Count to encourage primary school children to get involved with native tree planting.

This involves connecting kids with planting opportunities, as well as building relationships between schools and nurseries. We're also funding the Trees for Survival programme, which will enable the planting of 35,000 native plants by 40 schools in 37 locations nationwide.

The final partnership I announced was a five-year commitment with the international Arbor Day Foundation. This is yet another recognition of our reputation worldwide as a conservation superstar.

This partnership focuses on reforestation initiatives and ecosystem services like carbon sequestration and storage.

While it might not always seem like much, tree planting is a proven method to slow down the effects of climate change and improve biodiversity. Digging a hole in the ground and planting a tree really does make a difference, especially when we all combine our efforts in a co-ordinated way.

In Budget 2022, there was a lot of money set aside to support forestry initiatives. This includes a specific investment to help establish new native forests.

I know it costs more to plant native trees than exotic ones and that native forests are more difficult to maintain due to introduced pests. This is why our government is exploring options to address these challenges along the full supply chain, to improve incentives for planting more native trees.

We invested $145 million from the Budget to reduce the costs of native tree seedlings and increase the number available for planting.

This investment, and all the actions we're taking to support forestry in New Zealand, recognises the importance of the sector. It's our fourth-largest export earner, employs about 40,000 people, and is key to unlocking our highly skilled, low-emissions economic transformation.

You may have heard about our government's goal of planting a billion trees by 2028. While it might seem lofty, I can tell you that at the end of last year, an estimated 350 million trees had been planted, and that we're expecting another 120 million seedlings to go into the ground by the close of 2022.

We're well on the way to achieving this goal, which will help us meet our emissions targets while protecting our economic security.

It's therefore no cliché to say that the trees we plant today will directly influence our future.