2022 Support My Cause recipient: Awhitu Peninsula Landcare

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners New Zealand’s employee is helping a local charity to preserve New Zealand’s coastlines through a $10,000 donation as a part of the company’s new community funding programme, Support My Cause.

Support My Cause is a CCEP NZ employee-led initiative which gives all CCEP NZ employees the opportunity to nominate a charity that is meaningful to them. The shortlist goes to an employee vote with the chosen charities receiving $10,000 each.

Awhitu Landcare is an important charity for Business Manager for Foodstuffs North Island, Luke Graham, who grew up in the area and has family who volunteer both in the nursery and planting trees.

“Coming from a rural background, I have always enjoyed the outdoors. Ensuring our land is managed correctly will allow for future generations to have the same experience and love for the land that I did, and still do, it is because of this that I nominated Awhitu Landcare,” says Graham.

“The donation from CCEP NZ will enable more native trees to grow on our land, less pests, greater erosion control on our coastlines and a more educated community building for a sustainable future. I’m pleased and proud that CCEP NZ is joining me in helping to support them.”

Awhitu Landcare’s Manager Alison Brown said that the charity is mostly powered through volunteer effort, and the donation from CCEP NZ will help their volunteers to continue the important environmental restoration work and community programmes.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Luke and CCEP NZ for the nomination from Luke and this generous donation from CCEP NZ. It means we can provide more support and resources for the wider community to engage in conservation activity,” said Brown.

Awhitu Landcare started in 1994 with local landowners volunteering their time to protect the land from encroaching sand blows damaging west coast farmland and the environmental damage from pests.

As well as protecting the land with pest control and tree planting, today Awhitu provides community workshops, specialist advice about contemporary environmental practice, restoration planting and seed saving and is currently involved in pioneering conservation work to save the critically endangered Rōhutu tree.

CCEP NZ’s donation will help the ongoing cost of the nursery, enabling the growth and planting of more native trees and protecting the land for generations to come.

To further support the charity, Brown encourages the public to become a member, donate or join them on their community events and planting days.

Click here to learn more about the fantastic work Awhitu Peninsula Landcare do and how you can support.