A group of farmers in central Hawke's Bay wants councils to put more effort into making the environment greener.
They have launched a Long Acre Trust which has the aim of beautifying hundreds of hectare of waste land throughout New Zealand, by planting them in native trees and shrubs.
Trust secretary Tim Wyn-Harris says he was galvanised by Canadian environmentalist Dr David Suzuki, who says thousands of tree species are being lost worldwide every year.
Mr Wyn-Harris says the aim is not to convince councils to plant trees and shrubs on all roadsides, but on waste land free of underground cables and power lines.
The trust had its official launch at a weekend luncheon in the grounds of Wallingford Station south east of Waipukurau.
Mr Wyn-Harris says the trust is under no illusions about the difficulty in gaining the support of councils throughout New Zealand.
But, since the United Nations launched a world wide project in 2006 to beautify and enrich the envionment, he says more than 10 billion trees have been planted.
He says New Zealanders should be encouraged to be part of the project.
