Tree planting effort looks to transport 

Native trees are being planted along walking and cycling trails as part of an initiative to help tackle New Zealand’s transport emissions. 

Trees for Transport is providing native trees for seven key planting projects throughout the country to help absorb CO2 emissions from the transport sector. 

More than 2500 native trees have been funded to date through the project alongside charity partner Trees That Count and foundation partner Ando Insurance. 

Projects includes the Kerikeri Walkways Project, Growing Kawerau Trees and Jobs, Ōakura Nature Trail, Pātea River Walkway Restoration, Tūhaitara Coastal Park, Wakatipu Reforestation Trust and the Dunstan Bridge to Bridge Restoration Project.

Ando is a majority-locally owned insurance agency with offices in Auckland, Tauranga and Christchurch. It founded Trees for Transport this year as part of its own journey towards carbon net zero, but also to achieve a much bigger impact. 

The company provides cover for private and commercial vehicles and points out in total, the transport sector contributes about 47% of New Zealand’s CO2 emissions. 

Ando chief operating officer Thérèse Singleton says the project was seen as a great starting point to do their bit for the environment.

“As an insurance company with customers and partners across New Zealand, we are part of a greater community, and in particular since many of our customers are in the transport sector, it’s an obvious place for us to look to help.

“Trees for Transport was our brainchild, driven by us, but it’s not about us. It’s about providing a conduit for our partners and customers to do something immediate and positive, whilst they make their own plans to transition to cleaner fuels,” Singleton says. 

Working with Trees That Count and local community planting groups, Ando is donating 10,000 trees each year for planting alongside a growing number of walking and cycling trails. 

The project states that New Zealand is on the road to an electric vehicle future, “but we can’t sit idle until then”. 

The Trees for Transport projects are funded through Trees That Count, a programme that matches funders with planting projects throughout the country. 

Trees That Count is managed by the Project Crimson Trust, an environmental charity that has been at the heart of conservation efforts in New Zealand for more than three decades.

The organisation is seeking support to plant more trees and is asking people for donations with even small contributions making a big difference. 

*Go to treesfortransport.co.nz for more information and to make a donation.