During the Rugby World Cup, the “Living Legends” project aims to plant 85,000 native trees around New Zealand. A neat and lasting way to provide some offset for the carbon footprint of the RWC. Each site has been selected by the Department of Conservation and will be named after one of New Zealand’s rugby greats. The site chosen for Nelson was the Wakapuaka Wildlife Reserve and our “living legend” is Todd Blackadder. (Excellent choice!)
The planting took place at the end of last month. I took some pictures (you can find the whole selection here). Not just hard work but a lot of fun, especially for the kids who took part. Our local MP Nick Smith was there, digging away:
But it was the kids that I found myself photographing:
They worked hard. It was quite a walk to stack the empty containers:
We had an introduction from ‘bug man’ Ruud Kleinpaste (of ‘Maggie’s Garden Show’ fame), who knows a bit about trees too.
I also learned something. A few days earlier I had lent my camera to another photographer who snapped off a few shots and then handed it back. I didn’t notice at the time, but the camera had been flipped to manual focus, which I seldom use outdoors. So, even though I was using a wide angle lens with a great depth of field, half of my shots were useless. A lesson to always check camera settings before a shoot!
You can see the remaining shots on my pBase site. Kids, if you want any pictures just contact me and you can have them for free. (Sorry I’m late posting this.)
Hi Graeme. I have finally checked out your photos from the living legends planting day. My son Marshall is the boy with the long ballon. He would love to have a copy of the photo.