Zoroastrian Youth of New Zealand—21 June 2015

Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest religions and its followers have spread throughout the world.  There is a thriving Zoroastrian community in New Zealand and later this year, the community is hosting the 6^th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress in Auckland.

The congress is being managed by the Zoroastrian Youth of New Zealand (ZYNZ) and their vision is to create a global platform for Zoroastrian young people from around the world to embrace the treasured culture and unique traditions of the religion and to work to create a united future.  The ZYNZ have also decided to make this the first ecologically conscious congress by showcasing New Zealand’s clean green reputation as well as Zoroastrianism’s environmentally conscious rituals and customs.

In connection with the congress’ Green Initiative and to help make the event as carbon neutral as possible, the ZYNZ committee decided to plant trees at CUE Haven. Young Zoroastrians from around the world will be coming to Auckland for the congress and they have the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint by sponsoring trees which the ZYNZ will plant.  The funds generated from the tree sponsorship will be used towards hosting some fun events at the upcoming youth congress.

Today seven members of the ZYNZ – Aatish, Astad, Danny, Farzad, Nazneen, Sanaya, and Tinaz were on site to do the planting.  Also joining us were four other very enthusiastic youth – Stephanie, Xerxes, Yazdy and Zoe, who are regular volunteers at CUE Haven.

We started out with a welcome and introduction and morning tea.  We then gave the group a safety briefing and an overview of what they would be doing.

The plan for the day was to continue planting at the top of the property, an area combining wetlands and open sloping ground.  We drove the group up to the top and went to work.

Tinaz, a professional photographer, spent time documenting the group’s activities.

But she did manage to plant some trees as well!

For the most part it was a perfect day for planting, but a couple of times some brief showers blew in from over the harbour.

But the team kept working and smiling!

The team worked hard and in a few hours managed to plant 522 trees—an amazing accomplishment! A perfect end to a great day!

We are very happy to be a part of the ZYNZ’s green initiative for the 6th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress. It is wonderful to see young adults taking initiatives towards creating a healthier and more sustainable environment.

The trees they have planted are the fast growing pioneer native New Zealand trees (Cabbage trees, flax, kanuka, karamu, kohuhu, lacebark, mahoe, manuka, wineberry), that will establish the canopy which will provide shelter for a variety of plant and birdlife to flourish.

Our thanks to Roxanne for organising the 6WZYC planting day. Unfortunately Roxanne could not join us today due to work commitments, but we look forward to seeing her again.

A big thank you to the ZYNZ team who came out today to plant.  We wish you much success for the Congress and we hope you will have an opportunity to bring some of the delegates out to CUE Haven. And we hope you will come back again to plant more trees next year!

And finally – an extra special thank you to our regular young volunteers – Stephanie, Xerxes, Yazdy and Zoe for giving up yet another weekend to come out and help.  It’s always great having you assist at CUE Haven and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

It was a pleasure working with everyone today and we really appreciate the major contribution you all have made to the CUE Haven project and our planet with your efforts.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!