Three Gifts you can Give for Nature this Christmas

Three Gifts you can Give for Nature this Christmas

If you’re looking for a gift that doesn’t involve using up more of the Earth’s precious resources

(aka buying something that will break in less than a week then tossed into landfill) here are a few ideas to consider.

Give a Native Tree or Shrub - There is a wonderful Chinese proverb that says “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now”.

And the best trees to plant for NZ’s wildlife are Surprise! native ones. They all provide food and shelter for someone, but a few especially good ones that would make great gifts are: kowhai, tree fuchsia, pseudopanax and our own NZ Christmas trees, rata and pohutukawa.

If the receiver of the gift has only a small garden, Kowhai ‘Dragon’s Gold’ is just as tasty to tui, bellbird and kereru, but grows bushy rather than tall. An added bonus is that it flowers from a very young age.

Give a Packet of Wildflower Seeds – A packet or two of wildflower seeds is a great option when you need that little something extra to round out a gift - much better than an instant kiwi. Another fun option would be wildflower postcards that you plant in a pot or garden. (Earthlore has produced its own range, appropriately called Food Parcels for Hungry Bees or Butterflies). This would be a nice gift for children, many of who find it a novelty these days to attach a stamp to something and post it. Just as novel to receive a personal note in the letterbox too.

Give a Donation to a Nature Charity – With many of us tightening our belts, and feeling unsure of the future due to Covid, donations to charitable organisations have plummeted. A gift of this sort is intangible, but do give it some thought. You could get the kids to draw a personalised certificate for the receiver to make it more fun. Many nature charities have great websites and you can donate online. Some of our favourites are the Moths & Butterflies of NZ Trust (or MBNZT for short), Forest & Bird and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, but there are many more doing fantastic work caring for and protecting our natural world.

Written by Janine Thompson.

"This article is included in Twinkl's Eco-Friendly and Sustainability campaign, and is part of their article Some great ideas to be more sustainable in 2021”

Posted by Gordon Thompson on December 17, 2020