Water Restriction Level 2
Mouri Tupu is a community campaign to plant 114,000 native trees and plants Lower Hutt and inspire citizens to pick up a spade and join in.
It will deliver Mayor Campbell Barry’s 2022 campaign pledge to plant one native tree or plant for every citizen of Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt.
To date more than 40,000 natives have been planted across Lower Hutt since October 2022, by Hutt City Council, Greater Wellington and other partners, and community organisations.
Mouri Tupu is one way we are delivering on our Indigenous Biodiversity Strategy, in particular the goals of protecting and restoring indigenous species and their habitats and connecting our community with nature.
Get involved
Share your planting projects with us and contribute towards our target!
Pin your planting project to our interactive map here. Add a picture to the map and you'll go in our monthly draw to win a gardening prize pack.
Learn more about volunteering in our parks and reserves here.
Mouri Tupu – our name
The name Mouri Tupu was gifted to the project by Kaanihi Butler- Hare, Tumuaki Māori at Hutt City Council.
Mouri is the life force or energy present in everything; not just living things like animals or plants, but also inanimate objects, places, and man-made items as well. This energy is nurtured and grown, or neglected and stunted, depending on our interaction with and care for the energy. Tupu refers to the early stages of the plant life cycle and encompasses the whole process of growth itself.
Mouri Tupu is our way of recognising that everything has the potential to grow and thrive, powered by the energy that flows through all things, and sustained by our interaction and care of it. This is why we are committed to ensuring a community in which everyone thrives; and we can only thrive if our environment is suitable.
Contact us
If you want to get in touch, email us at mouritupu@huttcity.govt.nz
FAQs
Biodiversity is a term used to describe the range of species in a place, and the range of communities or ‘ecosystems’ in which they live i.e., the diversity among and within plant and animal species in an environment. Biodiversity provides the life supporting systems that enable all organisms, including humans, to survive.
The Indigenous Biodiversity Strategy sets a framework to guide Hutt City Council, Mana Whenua and the wider community in working together to protect and restore our indigenous biodiversity. The strategy sets a shared vision and goals to guide us and identifies focus areas where we can work together to make a difference. You can read more here.
Biodiversity is often used as an indicator to measure health of biological systems. While biodiversity itself is not a function of an ecosystem, it does affect the resilience and function of these ecosystems. Ecosystems provide many of the services that make life possible for people: Plants clean air and filter water, bacteria decompose wastes, insects pollinate flowers, and tree roots hold soil in place to prevent erosion through flooding or increased pressures through climate change impacts.
Our residents support us making Lower Hutt a greener city. 83% of surveyed Lower Hutt residents told us planting natives is critically important. Nearly 70% of surveyed residents said that enhancing indigenous biodiversity in reserves, gardens and park is critically important.* Taken from the Indigenous Biodiversity survey: https://hutt.city/biosurvey
