An ambitious plan has started to restore one of the south island's well-known peaks into a native forest near Queenstown.
Community and environment groups have been upscaling in recent times to take on the mammoth tree planting project across Coronet Peak to help fight climate change and bring native wildlife back.
It's known for snowy peaks and ski slopes but with the ice melting on Coronet Peak, the community's mucking in to turn its public face back into native forest.
Two hundred volunteers are involved today as part of the Department of Conservation's Queen's Jubilee planting programme.
Melanie Seyfort from charity trees that count says it’s one of the region's largest restoration projects.
“It’s about 430 hectares, which makes 53-thousand hectares of QEII covenant, open access for all New Zealanders, that represents probably the most significant size of land available for planting, it's equivalent in size to a national park.”
Four million dollars of government funding went into upscaling Ngai Tahu’s Invercargill nursery.
Allowing the planting initiative to take on bigger and more significant projects across the south.
The volunteers in Queenstown hope to plant around 10,000 trees, the ultimate goal is 350,000 over the next five years, beyond that, there could be up to a million across Coronet Peak.
“In 10, 20, 30 years we will start to see this forest grow you will be able to stand on top of Coronet Peak when you are skiing and look down on the native forest,” said Seyfort.
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