A couple of weeks ago, the Environment Committee was able to take part in a volunteer day up in the Mahoenui bush, which is part of the Port Hills, as part of a volunteer planting programme aimed at restoring native forest to designated areas of the Port Hills. 

Despite the drizzle, we met early in the morning and travelled in vans to the meeting point, where we were met by Di, a volunteer instructor who showed us what to do. 

We helped remove the grass that was growing near the native plants, in order to stop the grass from taking the nutrients. 

We covered the soil up around the plants with the dead grass to keep the plants warm. Moreover, we trimmed down any plants that were long and leaning over the native plants. 

By doing this, it ensured the plants can get enough sunlight and warmth to carry out photosynthesis more efficiently. This prevents any breakage that could occur to the plants which would waste their energy for repair instead of growth and reproduction.

Thank you to Ms Clarke and Mr Scott for being amazing chauffeurs and joining in with the volunteer team. Overall the trip was very educational and a lot of fun! 

We hope to continue doing similar activities throughout the year and contribute to all the positive changes that are happening in Christchurch. 

In the future, we will be inviting anyone from the rest of the school to join us in planting and maintenance volunteering in the Port Hills, so watch out for those dates next term if you want to come along.

Yunru Huang and Ruby Perring, joined by the Environment committee: Tori Cotton, Kate Stedman, Alana Hillary, Olivia Kennington, Dikshya Chand, Chloe Kang, and Abbey Meiritz-Reid.