More than 100 volunteers helped plant 5000 native tussocks at Alexandra’s Half Mile Reserve on Sunday.

Based at the Clyde railhead where it operates the eco-nursery,  Haehaeata Natural Heritage Trust (HNHT) has a five-year memorandum of understanding with the Central Otago District Council (CODC) to carry out planting in the reserve.

The public planting session was led by HNHT with many of the plants sourced from Home Creek Nursery at Lake Manapouri.

HNHT’s project coordinator Rach Baxter said it was a fantastic turnout across all ages from a baby all bundled up to volunteers in their 80s. 

Volunteers and HNHT trustees had pre dug 5000 holes, totalling 66 hours of labour to make the public planting day work easier. 

Three local species were put into the ground, poa cita (silver tussock), poa colensoi (blue tussock) and festuca novae-zelandiae (hard tussock).

Volunteers with the tussock to be planted. PHOTO: Bev Thomson 

The favourable weather on Sunday afternoon drew more volunteers than the pre-registered numbers, with families and community members getting stuck in.

Many hands made light work at the public planting afternoon. PHOTO: Katherine Orme

Rach said the next milestone for Half Mile Reserve would be getting the rabbit proof fence up.

After that HNHT would be planting 500 trees and shrubs including kowhai, weeping matipo, olearia lineata, kanuka and some cabbage trees. 

“I’m hoping that it will be mid to late August," she said.

"It’s dependent on the fence first.”