175 Native trees planted to improve biodiversity and habitat for birds, lizards and insects!
In celebration of International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22), we share an exciting story about our tree-planting community in New Zealand!
In 2022, Beth Pearsall, one of our New Zealand regional coordinators, organized a tree-planting project at the Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity.
She tells us that the Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity is a peaceful and welcoming Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Centre on the stunning Coromandel Peninsula, affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT).
Beth explains that “The center is situated on 8 acres in the inspirational setting of Colville Valley, Coromandel Peninsula. Surrounded by meadows, woods, and the lovely hills of the Coromandel range, our ambiance is conducive to peace, calm, and healing.
The hills of this land were cleared of their indigenous forest, with the timber sent to build the cities of San Francisco and Sydney. The destruction of the forest and subsequent land use in the area have led to sediment build-up in the rivers and harbor, damaging habitat and food sources for native animals.
There has been significant effort by local groups to protect and replant the rivers and wetlands with over 40,000 trees planted in the last 4 years! We wanted to join this effort and so have planted native trees on the Mahamudra land to create beauty, provide habitat and food for animals, and help to slow water-carrying sediment to the rivers and ultimately the ocean.
Planting trees mindfully, and with purpose, has been a wonderful way to connect to the land and offer something positive to the environment that supports us.”
A very big THANK YOU to Beth and the Mahamudra Centre for planting all these trees and for sharing this wonderful story. We are inspired by your actions!
If you are in New Zealand and would like to get involved with tree planting, get in touch with Beth or Bengu, our two regional coordinators in New Zealand.
And, have a look at the Mahamudra Centre’s website, and learn about their events and the retreats they offer.
Photos below, from left to right: Before during, and after planting.
FACTS
Who: | Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity |
Why: | We dedicated these trees for the long life of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and to all the whales of the world. We know how our activities on the land affect the ocean so we dedicated these trees to the healing of the ocean. |
Where: | Colville, New Zealand |
When: | September 1, 2022 |
What kind of Trees: | Variety of native trees |
How many: | 175 |


