Trees planted in the Motueka Catchment in 2024
Motueka Catchment Collective applied to Trees that Count (TTC) on behalf of landowners and residents in the catchment in 2024. Annette Litherland, from Landcare Trust, resident of the catchment and active member of MCC, coordinated this application. Annette has now completed the report to TTC about the trees applied for and planted in 2024.
In summary:
- Trees that Count funded 5000 plants
- Motueka Catchment Collective purchased and grew shrubs, carexes, and flaxes to add 2694
plants to supplement the TTC plantings. - Total plants planted in the catchment in 2024 was 7694.
To read the full report, go to MCC’s resources page under the Biodiversity and Restoration section, or click this link –
Below is a map of where the plantings were done, showing the distribution across the catchment.
In addition to the information about 2024 plantings, Annette has also totalled all plants planted in the catchment between the years of 2022 and 2024. The table to the right shows these numbers.
As you can see, a huge 97,560 plants have gone into the catchment in the last three years. This does not include plantings where data has not been collected, which would likely increase this figure considerably.
These plants will contribute a number of benefits to the health of the catchment:
- Increase biodiversity of both land and water species. In ecosystems, all species have their own role to play. The more different species there are, the more stable the entire system is and the better it’s able to deal with stress and disruption.
- Improve habitat for birds and other native species by increasing the area these creatures can live, increasing food source, and providing nesting and roosting areas.
- Help protect land from erosion. This in turn reduces the sediment load entering our rivers and tributaries, and ultimately coastal environment.
- Reduces water temperature if grown alongside waterways, providing shade, reducing weed and algae growth and providing stable temperatures for aquatic life.
- Trees capture carbon thereby reducing the impacts of climate change.
- Planting trees also has benefits to the people planting them, providing them with a sense of satisfaction they are contributing benefits to their land and the wider environment, and getting them out connecting with nature.