Opihi River Revegetation Project members have discovered that many hands make light work.
Having planted 2075 trees along the Talbot Rd section of the Opihi River walkway, they have just under 3000 left to go.
Organiser Lisa North said the 5000 native trees would be planted along the river from the Allandale Bridge to the gorge.
‘‘So it is a big project.’’
When she had first seen the state of the track, it made her cry going along there.
‘‘It was all weeds,’’ she said.
She was fortunate to work at Heartlands Farlie Resource & Information Centre, as it offered her the ability to do something about it, she said.
She felt the plantings would complement the track, which was made and maintained by the Fairlie Lions Club.
The project had been helped along by a few organisations.
Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) action to impact fund made up the bulk of the funding and Opuha Water supplied the cardboard tree guards and materials for a trapping library.
Fairlie’s newly established Menzshed was constructing those materials into traps.
‘‘It’s their first project.’’ Ms North received a lot of information on what should be planted. She had spoken to an entomologist, who had told her that alot of the area would have been grassy plains where moa roamed.
He told her there would have been abundant native insects and butterflies, she said.
She had chosen plants that would draw insects, like the Muehlenbeckia australis, which brought in the butterflies and kowhai to attract the birds.
She had been provided with a list from an ECan biologist with native plantings which were suited to the area.
Some farmers had been surprised to see matagouri planted in the midst of the trees.
‘‘Birds nest there for protection.’’
The project had the help of Mackenzie College through its enviro club.
The club’s founding members, Phoebe Wilson and Lucas Lanchester, were both interested in the cause for different reasons.
Ms North said year 9 pupil Phoebe was a ‘‘budding entomologist’’ who had a host of favourite trees, one of which was the kowhai.
Year 7 pupil Lucas used the track with his mum for mountainbiking at the weekends.
Mackenzie College enviro school lead Jess King had just started at Mackenzie College this term.
Mrs King said while it might not seem like much now, when the children grew up and were going out there — potentially with their own children — they would ‘‘see the difference’’.
Her own children (18 months old and 3 years) would actually see the trees grow with them, she said.
