|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In a bid to encourage more Kiwis to grow natives, Auckland Council is giving away thousands of seedlings.
Thanks to the Go Native campaign, free seedlings are to be distributed from June 1 through a network of community nurseries – including Awhitu Landcare and Auckland Botanic Gardens – but only while stocks last.
The giveaway is part of initiatives intended to enlist help from local nurseries and gardeners in planting more native taonga, as council’s environmental services GM, Samantha Hill explains.
“It starts in backyards, shared gardens and local community groups. This campaign gives people a simple way to make a difference while celebrating the nurseries helping restore nature across Auckland,” she says.
“Restoring native biodiversity doesn’t always require big actions [and] community nurseries are at the heart of Auckland’s restoration story.”
The campaign aims to see 5000 Aucklanders plant native trees this winter that, collectively, could have a huge impact on the region’s biodiversity and future canopy cover.
More than just growing trees, gardeners and nurseries are helping to grow habitats, restoring ecosystems and reconnecting people with the natural world on their doorstep, Hill says.
Go Native is part of council’s Urban Ngahere Strategy, which aims to increase Auckland’s forest canopy to 30 per cent, helping create cooler, greener neighbourhoods and green corridors for native wildlife.
For details, including a full list of participating nurseries, click here.
https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2026/06/plant-more-natives/
