Planting on the island started in 1998 and particularly in the earlier years involved planting large numbers during the August season. This year, the Trust had 2500 young plants for the season, which ran on both Saturday and Sunday, for the first four weekends of August. It should have been easy, with Ian McLennan normally having to do a balancing act to hold back some plants to cover to the last weekend. But the weather this year…

Kerry had listed the annual PTC expedition for Sat 8th and had seven planters. Alas, a bad weather forecast meant the day was canned. The next day the Sunday people did go and it snowed! They gave up and hid in the cottage. A week later four of us turned up at Lyttelton on an iffy morning. We tried to talk Ian into going, but he rang the DoC man on the island who said, no. Later on, at home, we weren’t sorry at all. Ian and Kerry then scheduled a Friday Special for PTC on the 21st and we had a beautiful, calm day in the harbour. The PTC group was Kerry M, Merv M, Maureen T, Anne & Grant Hunter and Nathan Dougherty. The flattish terrace in the northwest was a lovely place to be.

Sat 22nd and the weather was almost as good. Lindsay, a regular on the island and I were planting in two steeper gullies above the ships’ graveyard, a great place to be and very satisfying. Meanwhile, Ian had a Student Army party of fifteen finishing the terrace we had worked on previously.

There is probably still a significant percentage of the total remaining to plant, so I can imagine more days being scheduled in September. (Merv M)