A letter from the Otago South River Care Group following their success with the OCC Seed funding:

A big thank you for supporting the Tuapeka Catchment Group with seed funding to plant native plants on the banks of Wetherston Creek at the Lawrence Gymkhana Grounds, in December 2021.

The event was a huge success, and we had approximately 25 community members come along to help get 300 plants in the ground. Most who came stayed to enjoy a BBQ and a yarn after the planting was complete. Thanks also to Anna Robinson for her help and support on the day of planting.

The site is now looking amazing, with the majority of plants have done well through the summer period. Members of the community have been meeting regularly to water the plants and keep them alive, as the soil conditions have been very dry through the summer and early autumn periods.

We ran a short video on our social media page, showing some footage and photos from the day, which acknowledged and thanked the Otago Catchment Community for their support. The video can be accessed here:

 We plan to continue to acknowledge the support from OCC through upcoming social media posts, which will provide updates on the plant growth, and how the site is progressing.

Thank you once again for this funding, it’s been an important step in helping to kick start the Tuapeka Catchment Group, and the impacts of the native planting will be seen for many years to come.