Honda + GW = thousands of trees


	Bing Luo with son Brian at the Kaitoke Regional Park planting day

Who would have thought that buying a new car could result in 10 new trees being planted?

It's a very pleasing prospect and it's happening for real with Honda TreeFund - a scheme designed to fund the planting of native trees to offset some of the region's car emissions.

For every new car sold, HondaNew Zealand Ltd funds 10 native trees via regional councils around the country. In the Wellington region, the trees are used for community planting days facilitated by Greater Wellington.

Greater Wellington's Amanda Cox says the three-year partnership with Honda TreeFund has resulted in Greater Wellington doing considerably more planting than funding would allow in the past.

"Since the scheme began in 2005, we have bought more than 30,000 extra trees, which not only helps to reduce the effects of climate change but also makes a fantastic contribution to the region's biodiversity."

Dean Blair, branch manager of Honda's Hutt dealership, mucked in during a recent planting day at Kaitoke Regional Park for Honda's staff and customers, led by Park Ranger Steve Edwards.

"Steve is phenomenal to work with - he's so passionate about the planting days and inspires everybody to really put their backs into it!"

Dean says his customers are generally delighted that their purchase means more trees for the region and many are enthusiastic planting day participants. "This year we had a customer who phoned us several times to absolutely make sure she was invited - she enjoyed it so much last year.

Find out more about the fund at Honda's website and look for upcoming community planting days on Greater Wellington's website.