Wetland Tree Planting.

I have signed up with Waikato Conservation Volunteers, and after weeks and weeks of nothing but week day missions, they had something on a Sunday. Annoyingly this was ANZAC day, but if I'm honest, I wouldn't have attended any events anyway (don't no why I wouldn't, just that I wouldn't).

We were driven down country to a farm that has natural wet lands running through, which are a short distance from the Waikato river, and which contribute to the water shed of the river, due to the incline of the property.

We were there pretty much all day, planting native seedlings around the boarder of a boggy patch in the middle of the pasture, which feed into a big pond, which in turn appear to feed into a another steam heading north. The area was fenced off to keep the stock out, so the area good over time return to what it was before the land was carved up and given to returning soldiers after "the" war (no idea which one exactly, just "the").

It was a really nice day, even through it was hot, and really hard work, and my back was really hurting from the effort of digging, and climbing up and down an almost vertical slope with spade and sapling in hand.

But....

There was a woman there who had signed up, wanting to meet new people, and with saving the environment as a happy extra. She seemed to head into the day on the assumption that everyone loved her, and was her very best friend. Which was nice when I first rocked up to the pick up point as a newbie, had was feeling alone and a bit intimidated. But, as the day progressed, and she told me her life story, allowing no interruptions, and touched me a couple of time (apparently strangers find me "cute", so this is common and not at all creepy, but unwelcome in her case).

"They" talked to our group about the project, and all about the watershed, and the nitrogen , and the nutrient loading and the benefits to the farmer of regenerating the wetland even when it reduced the area of his pastures, and stuff. it should have been really interesting and informative. But, I already knew it all, and frankly found the talk a little less than informative. But then, I am a scientist to be, not a grease monkey, or whatever.


Anyway...

One of the items on The List is plant 700 hundred trees. Yesterdays efforts added 30 to my total, which I think (I have packed my tally) is now at around 45. Still a long way to go, I know, but it's a big improvement!