Five years, 11,000 plants in the ground: Ashburton man's remarkable river planting effort

Ashburton resident Ross Hawthorne and a team of community volunteers have planted about 11,000 native plants along the Hakatere Ashburton River over the past five years, as part of an inspiring project to create a native bush corridor alongside the river.

Ross is set to become the first recipient of a new Environmental Champions Award, for his restoration work on the northern banks of the Hakatere Ashburton River. He'll receive the award at a special ceremony at Ashburton District Council on 21 October.

Many times in the last few years, Ross has thought to himself "we're near the end." 

"The end," in Ross's case, is the end of his passion project clearing weeds and planting natives along the Hakatere Ashburton River. 

His planting journey began five years ago when he spotted a large area of old man's beard, an invasive plant, beside the river. He got stuck in, removed the unsightly mess and replaced it with native plants. 

He then spotted other areas that needed tidying up, found a few mates to help, and cleared more weeds, replacing them with new plants.  

The number of plants installed by Ross kept growing and soon, there were about 600 in the ground. 

Each time Ross planted more, he thought his work was almost finished.  

But he kept going. 

Fast forward to now and Ross and a large team of helpers, including school students, have planted about 11,000 plants. These cover a huge area of the Hakatere/Ashburton River, with more than 30 species now in the ground.  

Ross's goal is to establish a native bush corridor along a section of the river stretching between Trevors Rd and Chalmers Ave, Ashburton. 

Funding brings Ross's river planting vision to life 

The latest stage of Ross's Hakatere/Ashburton River planting project was made possible by $8,182 of funding from the Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) Action Plan Fund for 2025/26. Ross has also received additional funding from Ashburton District Council for the project. 

It's the third time Ross has successfully applied for funding from Environment Canterbury for his project. 

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without the funding," he said. 

Environmental Regulation and Protection Core Service Lead Councillor Claire McKay says projects like Ross’s show what can be achieved when Council investment supports people who are already making a difference in their communities. 

“As councillors, we want to see our funding going to projects that deliver real, lasting benefits for Canterbury’s environment and communities. Ross’s commitment is a great example of that. A relatively modest investment from Council has helped support thousands of native plants going into the ground and a project that the whole community can be part of,” Cr McKay said. 

Commitment to the cause  

Ross has kept planting because, in his words: "I'm mad, pig-headed, crazy, all that sort of stuff." 

But there are wholesome reasons too. 

"I love it down there at the river. It's peaceful and you see quite a few people walking through, and I enjoy the sound of the river. 

"What I'm hoping to see as the trees grow one day, is that some other birds apart from just fantails will also return once they've got a home," Ross said. 

More than 30 species planted 

Some of the species Ross has planted, include:   

• Astelia
• Native broom
• Native beech
• Broadleaf
• Hebes
• Mingimingi
• Māhoe
• Ribbonwood
• Pittosporum.

Ross's project is just one of those selected for funding from our CWMS Action Plan Fund for 2025/26.  

Discover other CWMS Action Plan Fund projects making a difference across Waitaha Canterbury.