Surfers aged 6 to 16 from the Wildcoast Boardriders Club planted native trees on the Tasman Lookout Track at Piha on Sunday the 17th June, alongside rangers from the Auckland Regional Council and volunteers of the Piha Coastcare group. The area was stripped of vegetation by a fire several years ago.

For the surfers, who held their club comp on the same day, it was their contribution to International Surfing Day, an annual global celebration of surfing, which this year carried the theme of environmental protection. Led by Rosa Thompson (14), who co-ordinated the effort as part of her Schools Voluntary Service, the youngsters braved the cold south-easterly wind in between their competition heats to carry Pohutukawa trees up the hill. Many Christmases from now they could sit out on the Piha Bar, look up at the hill crimson with Pohutukawa flowers and be able to say: “We planted that!”

The surfing competition was followed by a beach clean up race, which saw kids swarming over the beach and foreshore flying their International Surfing Day rubbish bags which had been sent over for the occasion by The Surfrider Foundation.

Thank you to all those who came along and participated!!


--Submitted by the Wildcoast Boardriders Club in support of New Zealand's Surfbreak Protection Society and International Surfing Day