Trees for Canterbury was founded in 1990 by Tim Jenkins, who initiated the project by appealing on local radio for volunteers to help plant more natives throughout Christchurch and the region. Initially, these native plants were grown in volunteers’ backyards before the project established a dedicated nursery site to support community-based environmental restoration and education.

OurfirsOur first site was half an acre, built from recycled Toyota car cases recovered from the Toyota assembly plant in Sockburn, demolition and site materials, hessian sacking from the backing of carpet and items recovered from the resource recovery center. Plants were grown in all sorts of containers, including soft drink bottles, milk cartons and we even used glass jars at one point.

The initiative with Tetra-Pak was part of a long-standing effort to reuse community-supplied waste for seedling propagation. For 30 years, TFC used milk cartons to pot seedlings into.

Steve Bush officially appointed at Trees for Canterbury, where he still works to this day.

Officially called the Tree-mendous Seedling Swap. The initiative was a partnership between Meadow Fresh and Trees for Canterbury, started here in Otautahi, where it grew and went nation-wide. It meant for every carton returned to TFC you would a recieve a free seedling.

Through grit and determination, and with the support of Tetra-Pak we made it to the Ellersie Flower Show in Auckland, where we received a silver award for our display. Lots of fun was had on this excursion.

We received, with the support of Tetra-Pak, old milk crates which became the main-stay of the nursery for growing our plants/seedlings in. They turned out to be just the perfect vessel for growing, transporting our plants, with the added bonus of air-pruning the roots of plants. At the time we were using mostly milk cartons which fitted a tidy 20 cartons per crate. (Great for counting!)

In recognition of our contribution to the environment, we received this award for over a decade of environmental and community stewardship.

Due to road widening in Opawa, TFC had to find a new site. We were shown a site (...actually an old horse paddock) in Charlesworth St. So with a lot of support and fundraising we were able to rebuild our new and improved Trees for Canterbury. The site was a blank canvas, of 1.5 hectares ready to be developed into a thriving and productive nursery. It took 2 years from securing the site to opening day. Lots of blood, sweat and tears went into getting it ready.

A huge milestone on Trees for Canterbury's mission to plant 1,000,000 trees!

We received recognition for the work we were doing for our local and wider community.

We suffered significant liquefaction and EQ damage. Water was down for a week, and luckily not long after a 1,000L tank arrived which meant we could water out plants. For a week after the February quake we dug and removed silt from the site with our trusty tractor. We were fortunate enough to have Tetra-Pak supply us with a permanent water tank, and Lady Isaac sent a water tanker to fill it. Lo and Behold, the very day that the tanker arrived with the water we were informed that the water supply had been restored...!

W celebrated 25 years of Trees for Canterbury, a significant milestone for any community organisation. We invited many of our volunteers from over the years, as well as our early and long-term supporters.

Mayor at the time, Lianne Dalziel joined Trees for Canterbury to commemorate this milestone for our organisation and Canterbury. The 1 millionth tree was planted at Travis Wetlands, with an incredible turn out on the day.

Tracey led nursery operations at TFC for over 18 years, her expertise paved the way for many practices we still use to this day. She worked closely with our volunteers, and her passing was a huge loss to all who knew and loved her.

We successfully expanded our nursery further to Charlesworth Reserve to increase our production capabilities.

Beloved volunteer Gregor MacDonald was at Trees for Canterbury, for nearly 30 years from 1992 until 2020.

TFC was originally focused simply on growing and planting trees, however he has also cultivated TFC to become a major community service, not only growing a greater range of plants, but in the process also becoming a pathway for vulnerable, isolated or disabled people to learn new skills, to build self-confidence, and to make friends within a warm and inclusive environment.