Ōtaki Carbon Forests | Energise Ōtaki

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Ōtaki Carbon Forests
Ngā Ngahere Waro o Ōtaki

Planting trees to help us reach our goal.

Ōtaki Carbon Forests is a group of local kaitiaki and landowners committed to planting permanent (mainly) native forest, helping Ōtaki become carbon neutral and biodiversity rich.

We plan to help establish a minimum of 32 hectares of new forest.

How? By supporting our members in forest planning, planting, maintenance and more.

Join us!

CONNECT

Here is our free practical guide to planting locally.

Volunteer

Energise Ōtaki runs on people power.

Ōtaki Carbon Forests welcomes volunteers for preparing and planting our future forests.

Want to join us?

Volunteer

Frequently asked questions

Do you want to do something to help mitigate climate change, and are you interested in planting and tending trees? Would you like to:

access (or share) information and advice on tree planting and subsequent maintenance
find out about financial incentives and support for tree planting
access advice regarding the Emissions Trading Scheme and earning carbon credits
be part of a group of local landowners and kaitiaki with a shared motivation: to help mitigate climate change by planting and maintaining trees?

We would be delighted to talk with you about Ōtaki Carbon Forests, including for expert advice on tree selection, planting and maintenance work specific to your property.

Here's what we can do:

assist with planting projects
provide advice on where and what to plant in particular areas
provide assistance on sourcing plants and accessing funding.

Plus, for participants interested in learning about earning 'carbon credits', we can:

provide advice on the requirements for entry to the carbon credit scheme and how to register
help interested, eligible landowners/ kaitiaki prepare applications to join the scheme.

We'll do it together!

Ōtaki Carbon Forests will:

Support the planting of primarily native trees in South Manakau, Ōtaki and Te Horo. (Non-natives could include a small number of trees for food or fuel production, aesthetic or other purposes.)
Allow for a small amount of felling within forest blocks, provided the canopy is protected.
Count all permanent plantings of one-half hectare or more planted by groups and individuals since the year 2020 and maintain a register of these plantings.
Provide educational opportunities for local schools and the wider community on the role of trees in carbon sequestration and biodiversity, and on how to maintain healthy and effective carbon forests.
Establish relationships with local iwi through information sharing and promoting mātauranga Māori practices in the management of carbon forests.
Keep Ōtaki residents informed of progress towards achieving our goal by maintaining a publicly displayed record of the hectares planted to date.

We’re at carbon neutral when there’s an equal balance between

the carbon dioxide we’re releasing by using fossil-fuel energy
and how much carbon dioxide is being taken out of the atmosphere (by trees, for example).

In other words, even though we can’t yet avoid producing carbon emissions, at 'carbon neutral' we’d be making sure we’re not adding more to the atmosphere by helping remove it at the same time.

We're not there yet.

So we are also working to reduce how much carbon our town is emitting, by reducing our energy use (e.g. better insulation) and encouraging the use of non-fossil energy sources (e.g. solar and wind).