Private landowners or community groups with land located in the Selwyn District can apply. You must have at least 1100m2 of land available to plant and be able to commit to the ongoing maintenance and protection of the Greendot.
You can either apply for assistance from Te Ara Kākariki via our Plant Your Property page. Or, if you would like to plant a Greendot without our involvement we recommend employing an ecologist to assess your site and write a plant list. The key thing is to plant the right plant in the right place, check out our resources for information to help you with this.
We encourage landowners to start with a smaller planting, adding more each year as maintenance can easily become overwhelming.
If you have lots of time, extra help or can employ someone for planting and maintenance then we encourage larger plantings. If you are successful in getting Greendot assistance from Te Ara Kākariki then we will help with the first 1100m2 and you can organise the rest. You can discuss your overall plan with our ecologist when they visit.
Email le*********@ka******.nz to tell us about your site. Photos and a plant list will help us determine if your site qualifies as a Greendot. If it does we will send someone out to take a look.
If you would like to restore land back to native forest but don’t have the time or resources to do it yourself, please get in touch.
We always want to know of potential projects that could become significant steppingstones in our Greenway. Send us an email to let us know about your property.
We may not have the resources to take your site on at the moment but if an opportunity presents itself then we would get in touch.
Planting native species rather than exotic species is always best but unless your planting is a riparian strip then the minimum width of a site we will consider is 10m wide. Te Ara Kākāriki aims to assist planting projects with a large core area to edge area ratio. This provides better protected habitat for native wildlife and sensitive plant species to grow resulting in a more natural forest ecosystem.
Yes, you can apply each year for assistance planting the next stage of your Greendot even if you have received assistance before. We encourage multi-year planting projects to make bigger Greendots.
Yes! There are many Greendots on public land that you can visit. Here are our favourite ones:
Te Pae O Ahuriri – Situated in Lincoln, park your car on Neills Road where it meets the Halswell / Huritini River. A short loop walk can be done by walking down the Little River Rail Trail for 400m before entering the planting at the sheltered seating area, from there you can walk through the Greendot planting to come back out at Neills Road.
Ōkakaraiti – Drive 800m down Pococks Rd from the main highway, just over the railway lines on your left you will see Ōkakaraiti. Park on the grass verge and take a walk through three years of planting, over the moraine to a pond at the other side. Enjoy stunning views of the Southern Alps and farmland along the way.
Joyce Reserve – Located on Homebush Road, 300m up the road from Glentunnel School. This is a Kids Discovery Plantout where Glentunnel School and Darfield High School planted from 2018 – 2021. Another great site for a picnic and a stroll through the native plantings.
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Yes! Please email le*********@ka******.nz to register your interest in helping our ecologists set up for the planting day. They usually start at site from 7.30am but you can leave before the end of the day if you would like to.
Te Ara Kākāriki supply everything you need to plant including quality spades and mallets and clean gloves.
Everyone can learn how to plant and we can show you! Our team will give you a planting demonstration at the start of the volunteer planting day. If you’re still not sure, one of our team would be more than happy to help you.
If you need confirmation you attended one of our Plantouts, please see one of our team on the day. We can email confirmation you attended, and we can even send you a digital certificate, just ask!
Email le*********@ka******.nz and let us know how many people are keen to join us and for what day.
Whatever help and support you need we will be more than happy help however we can. Just fill out the form here and someone will be in touch as soon as we can.
Te Ara Kākāriki Greenway Canterbury Trust is an incorporated Charitable Trust with the goal of increasing biodiversity in Canterbury.
Our mission is to create a ‘Greenway’ – a corridor of native biodiversity Greendots between the Waimakiriri and Rakaia rivers, linking the mountains to the sea Ki uta ki tai.
We’ll send you regular updates on planting days and other useful news (we will not share your details with third parties)
