Community rallies to revegetate former landfill

Over 7200 native plants have been planted on a former landfill site as part of a joint venture between the Gore District Council’s parks and reserves team, local schools and businesses.

The revegetation project is the continuation of a programme started in the early 2000s by the Gore District Amenities Trust.

With funding assistance and a list of suitable native plants from the Trust, the Council has continued its work at the southern end of Hamilton Park. About 2ha has been planted out to date.

Parks and recreation manager Keith McRobie said the programme was a genuine community effort with students from Māruawai College, St Marys, East Gore, Gore Main and West Gore schools all mucking in.

“We also had volunteers from the Gore Rotary Club and Gore River Valley Lions, while Mataura Valley Milk crews helped out as part of the company’s community volunteer programme.”

The plants were eco-sourced through Pukerau Nursery, which means they were grown from seeds ethically harvested from the District. They represent the vegetation historically found in the area, he said.