Schools across Waipā District to take part in Trees for Survival plantings

Fonterra has partnered with Trees for Survival to plant trees to help the environment while providing great learning opportunities for students.

Fonterra has partnered with Trees for Survival to provide resources so 22 schools, including Te Awamutu Primary School, Ngutunui Enviro School, Ōtewā School and Pirongia School, can plant around 22,000 native trees collectively and learn more about conservation.

In spring, the schools will pot up 1,000 native plant seedlings each, which the students will nurture in custom-built shade houses provided through Fonterra and Trees for Survival’s partnership.

The next autumn, the students will set out on planting days, where they’ll plant the native plants along waterways to improve water quality and on hillsides to help prevent erosion. Their planting will also help provide food and habitats for wildlife.

Denise Strathern, a teacher at Pirongia Primary School, one of the five schools supported last year, says the planting days are an amazing opportunity for the students.

“We had a fabulous few hours planting native plants alongside a waterway on Waikato farmland. Students learned how the trees soak up the waste from farming animals to help keep our waterways clean.”

Trees for Survival national manager Phil Lyons says Fonterra’s support will enhance students’ environmental literacy. “It means we can educate hundreds of students on conservation through the planting days, and also through our environmental education programme.”

Fonterra community engagement and social investment manager Shaheen Junge explains there’s a special connection formed through the planting process. “The students plant the mature seedlings on Fonterra farms, so it’s quite a full-circle moment.”

This is Fonterra’s second year partnering with Trees for Survival, with five schools supported in 2022.

The 22 selected schools are either participants of the Kickstart Breakfast programme or are near a Fonterra farm or manufacturing site.

This partnership was made possible through Fonterra’s Hapori Programme, which operates with partners across New Zealand to put good-quality nutrition in the hands of those who need it, protect and regenerate the environment and provide the care and support that keeps our communities strong.