Dart River and Queenstown Resort College join forces for nature

A group of staff from Dart River, along with Queenstown Resort College students and visitors to the region planted over 1,000 native seedlings in the Department of Conservation Paradise Reserve on Saturday.

This is the third year that the planting has taken place, as part of a long-term initiative to take responsibility for and improve the areas that Dart River tourism operates in. 



Queenstown Resort College student Dior Louis said it was great to be involved in the tree-planting again this year.

“I keep volunteering for this project as it always gives me a feeling of giving back to nature, which is amazing – I absolutely loved it,” she said.

“I’ve been fortunate to have met great people as well, which makes volunteering for this project even more rewarding.”

The work is in keeping with Ngāi Tahu Tourism’s value of Kaitiakitanga – to look after the environment.
David Kennedy, Ngāi Tahu Tourism Regional Manager, said improvements to the environment were now visible after only a few years. 

“Clusters of regeneration in Paradise Reserve under the Red Beech canopy are developing well and we’ve been able to achieve a lot with the help of so many volunteers,” he said.

“The enthusiastic support of visitors to Queenstown and people returning from last year has made this the best year yet.”