The Kai Rākau Project - 1st Annual - Heritage Fruit Tree Planting Day

Name: The Kai Rākau Project - 1st Annual - Heritage Fruit Tree Planting Day
Start: 2025-08-16T00:00:00+12:00
End: 2025-08-16T03:00:00+12:00
Location: Sanders Reserve

Schedule

Sat Aug 16 2025 at 12:00 am to 03:00 am

UTC+12:00

Location

Sanders Reserve | Auckland, AU

🌱 It’s been a long time coming... but we’re finally here.
The very first stage of planting our living museum: a grafted collection of heritage fruit trees!
These are no ordinary trees. Some are over a hundred years old - carefully rescued from local orchard remnants that are either dying out or being lost to development. We’ve been in research and development & curating this collection for years, with some of these trees growing in bags for over a decade!
🌳 Come and be part of the planting!
We’ve got over 60 heritage trees ready to go - and they need careful hands and community heart.
Bring your whānau, a wheelbarrow, shovel, gloves, and a water bottle - and help us kickstart something truly special.
🌏 Healthy soil is key, so we’ll be building up 2m-wide circle x 500mm high mounds of rich planting material to give these taonga the best chance at surviving another 100 years (or more!).
☕ Refreshments provided.
✅ BOOK-A-SPOT by clicking Going, DMing us, or emailing:
📧 [email protected]
Need gear? BOOK-A-BARROW or shovel with us - we’ve got some spares, including kid-sized spades too.
💚 FRIENDS OF KAI RĀKAU | JOIN OUR DATABASE
Can’t make this one? There’ll be more planting and working bees ahead - including citrus, subtropicals, and Rongoā Rākau (indigenous medicinal plants and trees). There’s always a job going for those keen to join the crew.
🍎 The overall collection will become a living showcase of what we can grow in this climate — highlighting the magic of healthy soil, hands-on ecological education, indigenous wisdom, and heritage preservation.
Eventually, the fruit of our efforts will be shared — with those in need, local food rescue groups, schools and passed on through our local ‘Spare Fare’ initiative.
🙌 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It takes a community to grow a food forest - and we’re incredibly lucky to be surrounded by one.
From the very beginning, this kaupapa has been nurtured under the umbrella of our local Sustainable Paremoremo Charitable Trust (since 2010 - with the best team in Pare!).
Our community lease is proudly supported by the Upper Harbour Local Board and Auckland Council - thank you for your steady guidance and backing.
With heartfelt appreciation to the Upper Waitematā Ecology Network (UWEN) for your unwavering solidarity - the ecology of this harbour is in good hands thanks to this powerful collaboration.
Special thanks to ArbEco Environmental Consultancy for your advocacy and wisdom, and to Brotherwood, Kumeu for reminding us that what’s beneath the trees is just as important as what grows above.
Big thanks to Lush n’ Leafy Landscapes for clearing the dead poplars from the paddock - the space has never looked better!
Last, but definitely not least, hats off to our team of local mowers and gorse, blackberry, and tobacco plant annihilators - Kaye, Bex, Neil, and Karina - you’ve cleared the land so we are ready for this next chapter. Legends.