Teacher leads 2,800 students in 29-year effort to restore New Zealand coast

Since 1997, Year 9 students have returned four times a year to plant native shrubs and trees (Photo: Facebook/Buller school) A coastal area in New Zealand that was once bare pasture and windswept grassland has been transformed after 29 years of planting by school students. Since 1997, generations of Buller High School students led by now retired school teacher Janet Pottinger, have helped bring native vegetation back to Tauranga Bay and nearby Cape Foulwind.The work was carried out through Buller High School’s Year 9 environmental programme. According to local Department of Conservation, sudents planted native shrubs and trees along a walkway, seafront and car parks, gradually changing areas that were once mostly windswept paddocks, grassland and pasture.The final planting took place in November 2025, shortly before Pottinger retired. The Department of Conservation (DOC) staff joined the students and Pottinger for the planting day, marking the end of her 29-year involvement in the project.The change is now visible across the area. What was once largely open grassland has been replaced by native vegetation, creating shelter and habitat for a range of species. The landscape has also ...