Totaras mark millennium

Board joins pupils in planting

Members of Redwood Primary School's council (right) helped members of Shirley- Papanui Community Board plant 20 mature totara trees in Murchison Park as a millennium project.

The board's chairwoman, Yvonne Palmer, says the invitation to the school children showed the board's commitment to working with the community whenever possible.

Board deputy chairman Dennis Hills showed the children a piece of totara that was dug up from the site of the park. He had it carbon dated at more than 1000 years of age. Yvonne Palmer told the children, before presenting them with gifts and certificates, that they would be able to bring their children to the park in 20 or 30 years time and tell them that they had helped plant the trees.

Trees for English Park

Planting will be carried out in English Park by Shirley- Papanui Community Board, under its year 2000 project plan, when the park is fully developed.

The board may involve school children in the tree planting, as it did when 20 totara trees were planted in Murchison Park (Lowry Avenue, Papanui) last month.