Empowering Students in New Zealand To Make an Impact For Their Future

Gabrielle Clawson | November 24, 2022 | 5 min read

School-Aged Children Plant Trees and Restore Riparian Areas

On New Zealand’s North Island, Auckland teachers and students joined together with One Tree Planted and our planting partners to build a better future by planting trees across New Zealand. Our planting partner Trees for Survival works with children to empower them to make an impact through environmental actions that will help improve waterways and other environmentally at-risk sites, including erosion-prone hillsides and gullies.

For many reasons, New Zealand’s waterways have struggled to support healthy wildlife and biodiversity. After years of degradation, the waterways have become un swimmable and generally deemed unsafe. Planting in riparian areas is the best way to encourage aquatic life and bring back healthy biodiversity while also protecting surrounding communities from flooding.

This project provided 84,000 trees to these areas and engaged schools in New Zealand with mini nurseries and seedlings to care for, allowing children to play a key role in their future environment. This planting project has helped impact the environment and surrounding communities through education and engagement. 

riparian restoration new zealand

Intergenerational Bonding Through Planting

By now, we all know that planting trees helps impact the environment through carbon sequestration  and improving biodiversity habitat, but did you also know that tree planting can help educate and empower future generations?

Our partner engages with 192 schools throughout Aotearoa-New Zealand, providing them with a shadehouse and 1,000 native seedlings. They re-supply the seedlings seasonally, year after year and currently have 117 planting sites — all of which are environmentally degraded areas.

Through this planting project, teachers, parents, whanau, + community groups. were able to come together to make a difference. Students go through a learning program and grow the trees over a period of months. When the seedlings were ready to be planted, they were connected with local landholders with degraded riparian areas that need trees. And bringing another layer of learning, the children were able to travel to the planting sites and plant the trees that they grew. 

For each planting site, seedlings were ecologically sourced, professionally germinated, and potted up before being sent to schools. This gave students the opportunity to look after and nurture them before planting. Studies have recently shown that being involved in environmental activities positively impacts mental health, especially for young people. These students were able to make a difference while also promoting their health without even knowing it.

In an increasingly digital world, this planting project helped children (and adults) understand the importance of protecting the environment. Empowering the next generation to make a difference in their future is crucial, and we are so happy we were able to help these kids make an impact. 

learning how to plant a tree new zealand

Community Benefits 

Not only did schools benefit from this planting project, but the entire community as well. Whenever trees are planted, the surrounding communities enjoy environmental benefits. However, this project sought to involve the community even further. 

Our planting partner Trees for Survival employed local community members, benefiting the local economy with increased employment and locally sourced items. Parents, grandparents and sponsors were also invited to help the students, as well as those that live nearby the planting site. 

Planting trees does so much for the environment, but we often forget how projects like these can impact people. Students were given the opportunity to learn and grow through the simple act of taking care of seedlings and then planting them. Teachers were able to provide a rich educational experience, and local community members gained valuable experience.

learning how to plant a tree new zealand

Here’s How You Can Support This Project

It’s so important that we work to preserve the environment for future generations, and sometimes, that means giving them the tools to impact their own future. This planting project empowered kids to become involved in their communities + protect their future. We are thrilled to support this work, and excited to see what the future holds for these future leaders!

Want to support amazing projects like this? Plant a tree in New Zealand today!

Brazil Waterfall
Brazil Biodiversity
Brazil Nursery
Plant Trees Where They're Needed Most
Brazil Planting Partners
Brazil Landscape
Brazil Planting Site
Brazil Saplings
Brazil Waterfall
Brazil Biodiversity
Brazil Nursery
Plant Trees Where They're Needed Most
Brazil Planting Partners
Brazil Landscape
Brazil Planting Site
Brazil Saplings

Plant Trees Where They're Needed Most

As the need for reforestation is global and ever-changing, we feature where trees are most needed now. This project supports Brazil, a country well-known for its rich ecological diversity. Learn more

With your help, we will:

  • Support the habitats of Brazil's iconic wildlife species
  • Restore forests and improve the connectivity of fragmented forests
  • Provide jobs to community members and smallholder farming families
  • The Atlantic Forest, also known as Mata Atlantica, was once an expansive tropical rainforest ecosystem that covered 130 million hectares in Brazil. Sadly, centuries of deforestation for timber, sugar cane, coffee, cattle ranching, and urban sprawl have led to its decline, and it now occupies only 12% of its original size. But, there is still hope! Our planting efforts work towards restoring this vital ecosystem and its diverse tree species. Our focus is on areas such as western São Paulo State, where the Mooro do Diablo State Park and the Black Lion Tamarin Ecological Station are located, as well as many other forest fragments that are in need of restoration. We are planting trees, protecting the remaining forest, and promoting sustainable practices to preserve this beautiful environment for generations to come!
  • Our partners in Brazil are creating one of Brazil’s most significant reforestation corridors, connecting the Morro do Diablo State Park and the Black Lion Tamarin Ecological station. This will benefit endemic and endangered species, improve the livelihoods of thousands of families, and mitigate harmful edge effects. The project includes restoring significant private lands, promoting the occupation of restored areas by fauna, changing land use practices, improving small farmers' livelihoods, and providing high-quality carbon offsets. The program promotes sustainable agriculture and forest landscape restoration, influenced by policies that affect land use and conservation.
  • A personalized tree certificate (see gallery) to say thanks for your donation. We'll also send you reports about our Brazil project, so you can track the impact your trees are having on the ground!
  • We take great care in selecting species for our planting sites, ensuring that all of them are native to the Atlantic Forest. Our list of approximately 100 species includes rare and endangered species such as the Aspidosperma polyneuron (Endangered), Cariniana legalis (Vulnerable), Cedrela fissilis (Vulnerable), Zeyheria tuberculosa (Vulnerable), and Balfourodendron riedelianum (Near Threatened).


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