Lincoln’s Future Leader scholars were recently getting their hands dirty to help the local community and benefit the environment.
The scholars planted trees in Lincoln along the banks of the Liffey Stream as part of the “Lend a Hand” aspect of their programme at the University.
Scholar Libby Twiss organised the event.
Libby said Lend a Hand was about giving back to the community and akes a different form every year; ranging from raising money for charity through to supporting local school communities.
She said this year they wanted to move away from focusing on a certain dollar amount and, instead, decided that the Future Leaders would quite literally lend a hand.
“With Lincoln University’s emphasis on sustainability and changing the way agri-industries interact with the land, it only seemed right to give Lend a Hand an environmental focus for 2019.”
The Future Leaders partnered with the Selwyn District Council to run a tree planting day as a part of the Council’s efforts to facilitate restorative planting.
The Council hopes to restore the Liffey stream through the reintroduction of native plants and the protection of native instream biodiversity.
She said nearly 800 trees were planted, with the Council saying the Future Leaders were the fastest group they had seen.
“It was a really fulfilling afternoon and it was especially rewarding to see the tangible difference the planting had made to the area.
“A huge thank you to the Council, particularly biodiversity coordinator Andrew Spanton, for helping to organise and run the day in conjunction with the Future Leaders. Healthy Harvest kindly donated fresh fruit and bread for some post-planting kai, which was hugely appreciated by everyone involved.”