Conservation Comment: Everyone won on planting day

COAST CARE: Youngsters did a fabulous job. Photo/supplied

By Graham Pearson

No, I'm not having a senior's mathematic moment! Today I'm celebrating how great it is when a "win-win" situation, provides a solution where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Last Sunday more than 40 people volunteered with Castlecliff's Coast Care for a few hours. Responding to our call out in the River City Press and on Facebook for helpers, they got stuck in, planting more than 240 flaxes, cabbage trees, ngaio, hebes (donated by Geoff Potts, of Parnell nursery), taupata, korokio and karamu on the rear dunes at Castlecliff. Many were family groups, the youngest child having only just celebrated her first birthday, right through to us gold card volunteers, and every age between.

A group of youngsters did a fabulous job marshalling the buckets into line and filling them with mulch from the pile donated by the local tree trimmers. Meanwhile, the fitter adults were busy scrabbling up and down the rear dunes delivering the buckets of mulch to those planting. Real fancy team work everywhere.

While all this activity was happening on the dunes, another team of helpers was busy in the newly revamped Duncan Pavilion kitchen, putting together a celebratory lunch of soup, sausages, bread and cheese, biscuits and fruit, plus of course the mandatory cup of tea and coffee. (Thanks to WDC, Four Regions Trust and Whanganui Community Foundation, for the financial support that enabled Progress Castlecliff to revamp the kitchen this year).

This Community Planting Day not only achieved the primary objective of expanding the area of rear dunes regenerated with native plants (instead of weeds and wattle), it also:

�provided a fun outdoor environmental learning experience for the children

�provided a "team" working session for the children

�provided our regular volunteers with a huge boost in enthusiasm, as they saw heaps of other people getting stuck into their Coast Care project

�provided a chance to further build Castlecliff's community spirit over lunch.

All being wonderful "extras" that were achieved above the simple "two plus two", of donated plants and keen volunteers resulting in a positive revegetation outcome.

These kinds of "extras" would not be possible without the support of local organisations that provide financial and in-kind support, for these community projects. So a special thank you to those making the tough decisions on who and what to support.

You might have read this week that Horizon's has kindly supported Castlecliff Coast Care with a $560 Community grant, which will pay for R & M, petrol etc. Whanganui District Council and its staff are hugely supportive too, providing plants, while the Dept of Conservation has backed the group with a three-year grant in support. Volunteer Whanganui regularly recommends volunteers.

If you'd like to be part of Castlecliff Coast Care's next Community Planting Day, dress up warm and join us at The Duncan Pavilion, Rangiora St, at 10.30 am on August 13.

Graham Pearson's community involvement includes Progress Castlecliff and Sustainable Whanganui Trust membership.