Chairs Report 2006

When you drive into Cambridge from the golf course end of state highway one and see that blush of pink of the cherry blossom it sends a tingle up your spine. Those trees would have been destroyed but for the generosity of a local nursery man. The same has happened many times over the years and again this year, we have been given a large number of trees, which we will grow over the summer and plant out next autumn.

 If you take a walk around the Gaslight Theatre grounds or up in Addison Street and you will get that same thrill to see what has been achieved over the years. In this last year we have concentrated on Pope Terrace re planting the bank where the pine trees where removed. The view that has been exposed is worth keeping so our plantings have been low growing shrubs along the top of the bank, and it is thanks to a church group of 250 teenagers and the Department of Corrections teams that we managed to get the weed mat laid early in the year.

The wind gave us a few challenges but with concrete posts and metal we have stabilized the weed mat. The choice of shrubs, ordering, and planting was organized by Joye and Kevin Steel and team.

The Council and our small team of helpers have achieved a great deal this year, thank you all very much for your support..

Lastly a start has been made on the surround of the lake and I feel we can improve the banks with more trees since over the last few years up to a dozen have fallen down and been removed, But to me the jewel in the crown is the toilet we have battled hard to get and now it is there.

Council have informed us funding from them will be limited in 2006/2007.

So to next year, more work on the riverbank around the "Steel Way" below Fletcher Place, a walkway through the green belt past Oaklands, and hopefully joining it up to the Saffron Estate.

Significant Donations this year have been received from:

Eighty-three members have contributed in smaller amounts I thank them all, without their Donations we would have been unable to achieve all the projects we have achieved this year. The Committee did discuss during the year raising the donation, $10 does not even cover printing and posting the newsletters. We chose to leave it as is, but would ask you to consider a larger donation. We would also like to cut down our postage costs, so if you have an email address please forward it to us at //www.treetrust.org.nz/Newsletters/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can send you the newsletters electronically.

Trees planted in and around Cambridge that came from the nursery have numbered 3,597. This does not include the plantings on the Pope Terrace weedmat which are approx 2000 to date

The Corrections Dept. Periodic Detention Teams have contributed some 70 teams of 7 or 8 members doing up to 8 hours each, that is over 4,500 man hours. A mammoth contribution.. Our members have supervised and found work for all these teams. The teams also use our facilities at the nursery for toilets and refreshments.

The presentation of the "Trust Power Waipa District Community Awards for Educational and Child Youth Development" was a high light.

The Tree Trust has been involved in the education of students for 9 years. Plantings by these students over the years have been made at Poets Track, Lumb Park, below the Kauri Grove, Pope Terrace, Addison Street, Cooke Street, and this year over 1500 plants in the "Steel Way" the track below Fletcher Place. The Cambridge cub scouts and families commenced plantings on the Oaklands green belt as well. We have also been awarded a Weedbusters Award by Environment Waikato for weed busting on private land.

I thank you all for your contribution and time, it just keeps getting better.

Brian Mayo
CHAIRMAN