Living Legends, a community conservation programme that will see a total of 170,000 native trees planted throughout New Zealand by the end of the year, got underway for its third and final year in Christchurch on Saturday.
Established to leave a legacy of New Zealand’s hosting of Rugby World Cup, Living Legends dedicates each planting site to a local “Rugby Legend”.
The programme returns to 14 locations throughout New Zealand this year.
Mucking in! Raumati South and Paraparaumu Beach School students get involved in a Living Legends planting project at Whareroa Farm on the Kapiti Coast, near Paraparaumu
DOC has supported the programme since it kicked off, in the lead up to Rugby World Cup 2011.
Right now we are busy getting everything ready before volunteers and the rugby legends don their gumboots and get the last 41,000 trees in the ground!
The students helped revegetate a fairly large area of Whareroa Farm, which they will be able to monitor and watch slowly turn back into native bush over the years to come
2012 Living Legends planting events start soon. Register now for an event near you – it’s free!
In 2011, to celebrate New Zealand’s hosting of Rugby World Cup, 17 Rugby Legends joined thousands of volunteers to plant 83,000 native trees throughout New Zealand.
This year, Living Legends is returning to 17 locations to plant another 45,000 trees.
Living Legends is a community conservation project that was set up in 2011 to leave a legacy of New Zealand’s hosting of Rugby World Cup. It’s a five year project and the target is to plant 170,000 trees before the end of 2015.
Each planting project is dedicated to a regional ‘Rugby Legend’ who was selected in 2011 by their provincial rugby union. These Rugby Legends are people who have made an outstanding contribution to rugby in New Zealand.
Living Legends is a joint venture of Project Crimson, an environmental charity with 20 years experience in community-based native restoration projects, and The Tindall Foundation.
DOC has been a partner of Project Crimson since 1990 and we are thrilled to be a major sponsor of Living Legends, along with Meridian Energy.
All of the sites where Living Legends are planting, aim to have a positive and lasting impact on the social, economic and environmental value of its unique location. DOC helped Living Legends to select appropriate public spaces for these plantings to ensure that all New Zealanders can enjoy them for years to come.
Living Legends plantings will enhance some of our most special parks and reserves throughout New Zealand. These are places where we reflect, refresh and can escape the hustle and bustle of our daily lives.
It’s not long until the planting events start for 2012 so the team at DOC are getting our spades ready and hope to see you there!
The following Rugby Legends will be at the events in August to play their part in helping us plant over 45,000 native trees and shrubs.
Sir Colin Meads will be in Taupo
Tane Norton will be in Christchurch and Ashburton,
Kevin Laidlaw will be in Invercargill,
Duane Monkley will be at Lake Areare in the Waikato
Ian MacRae will be at our Napier event,
Ian Eliason will be in New Plymouth,
Richie Guy will be at our Whangarei event,
Kees Meeuws has confirmed for Dunedin
Sam Strahan will be in the Manawatu.
Register for an event near you at www.livinglegends.co.nz. We look forward to seeing you there!
