Over the past 14 years the riparian enhancement project has seen hundreds of volunteers from local schools, villages, businesses and iwi come together to plant more than 170,000 native trees along the Waikato River Trails. 

As one of the Ngā Haeranga Great Rides of New Zealand, the trail follows a stretch of New Zealand’s longest river and takes riders through exotic and native forest, wetlands and pretty recreation reserves.  

This year rangatahi from nearby schools and colleges helped to plant more than 6000 native seedlings next to the Waikato River Trail at Lake Whakamaru and Lake Atiamuri.  

"We love having rangatahi involved,” says trail manager Glyn Wooller. 

“The planting of trees helps them understand their place and helps them connect to their place in a meaningful way,” he says. 

“They are, in effect, part of the legacy we are all leaving by improving our local riverside environment.” 

Tree planting also disconnects rangatahi from technology and screens. 

After being part of the project for the past three years, three Upper Atiamuri School students know a thing or two about planting natives and how it helps the environment.

“It’s so good to see the difference in the plants we planted a few years ago, they’ve grown a lot, and that helps to bring in the birdlife” says eight-year-old Cru-Zane Te Hiko (pictured on the left).

School mates Ben Riddington and Casey Adamson, both 10 (pictured middle and right), agree. 

“It’s bringing in heaps more native birds, and it helps to keep the water clean,” they say. 

The trio love being outside the classroom and look forward to the annual project. 

“Tree planting is fun. I like seeing how they’ve all grown so much, it’s really cool to see how big they’ve grown,” says Ben. 

The students’ school is one of the closest to the trail, though volunteers from far and wide return each winter to help plant thousands of natives. 

“It is a special and meaningful way for the Waikato River Trails Trust to connect with our community. The process instills pride and connection with special and beautiful places along the Waikato River,” says Glyn.  

The environmental benefits since planting began are obvious, he says. 

“The planting of trees over the last 14 years in creating a native corridor , weeds species are being replaced , biodiversity is vastly improved and the trail surrounds look amazing.” 

Glyn is grateful for the generous funding from the Waikato River Authority and to Hodderville Nursery which has provided the seedlings for the past few years. 

“We’ve planted more than 170,000 native trees to date and we would like to continue this work into the foreseeable future.” 

See the best of New Zealand by bike.  Get off the beaten track and ride the Waikato River Trails.