Tree Planting - October 24 | First Light Travel

We were stoked to take part again with the Arrowtown Choppers and have another 3000 trees planted around the Sawpit Gully track. This is a huge undertaking that involves digging 3000 holes for the Beech and Totara trees that are then heli-lifted onto the site.

Here is a recap of the important work that the Arrowtown Choppers have been underaking up until the end of the planting season in Spring 2024.

Spring 2024. Especially thanks to Trees That Count, Mahu Whenua Open Space Covenants, QEII National Trust, and Queenstown Lakes District Council.

The numbers for Spring 2024 are:

Postmasters Kitchen + Bar Beech Party Planting Day (Sawpit Gully Track): 3000 Beech and Totara.

Arrowtown Cubs Planting Session (Bush Creek): 200 Olearia, Coprosma, and Kowhai.

Arrowtown Primary School Year 7/8's Planting Day (Bush Creek): 1000 Olearia, Coprosma, and Kowhai.

Arrowtown Keas Planting Session (Bush Creek): 50 Flax.

The Fork And Tap Ale House Arrowtown. Mountain Bike Planting Nights (Top of Tobin's Track): 750 Beech.

Plants were transported prior to the planting day using the Patagonia Pods (Version 4 of our plant delivery system). These Pods were loaded up with 375 trees on the top shelf and all materials stored underneath. 8 Pods were flown into Sawpit Gully track by Heliworks Queenstown for the Spring 'Arrowtown Beech Party' - Planting Day.

The Arrowtown Choppers named them Patagonia Pods, through the generous funding that allowed them to secure 8 of them.

It was a very cool spring day with a light snow dusting on the tops. Luckily the holes had been prepared prior to the planting day, so the team could get stuck in and get the plants straight into the ground.

The team involved members of the Arrowtown community and of course a few from First Light Travel, including my daughter Zara - down in Queenstown for the school holidays.

Funding and Donations

Arrowtown Choppers offer individuals and businesses the opportunity to provide funding to the Arrowtown Choppers. If you’d like more information about supporting the Arrowtown Choppers in this way, or how to make a donation, please email them at info@arrowtownchoppers.co.nz If you are interested in seriously helping natural forest regeneration then you can't get a better organisation than this. They can plant a tree for less than NZ$5 (US$3).

This is a charity and 100 percent of monies donated goes to tree planting, all works undertaken is by volunteers.