The Halo Project Source to Sea team of seven has worked with thousands of volunteers since 2021 to plant native trees throughout Otago.
This month, they celebrated planting more than 200,000 native trees.
"The highlight for me, personally, is seeing these plants growing and already attracting wildlife.
"I go back and monitor the sites and I see pīwakawaka [fantails] in the trees already.
"It’s awesome to see it happening, having that positive impact so quickly."
Helping to restore public sites and the private land of 70 different landowners from West Harbour to the Waikouaiti River, the project was aimed at promoting biodiversity and protecting sites of importance to Māori, she said.
The team was now working at an important habitat for seabirds, Potato Point, at Pūrākaunui, where almost every seedling had been planted by a volunteer.
"We’ve achieved really big things together.
"It’s not just us ... it’s farmers, it’s funders, volunteers, mana whenua and schools."
"The thing for me that makes my heart happy is seeing the people connect with it.
"Seeing people planting plant for the first time, seeing people eating outside for the first time, just people getting out there and having the opportunity to connect with the space that we live in."
The group used 40 different species of native trees, depending on the specific environments and what plants would have originally grown at each site.
