Rotoroa Involvement 2012

Friday 20th of January was an unusual day at the Apex General office. People came into work wearing shorts and hats, no traces left of the usual ties and high heels. Backpacks were left on top of desks and sun screens were being passed around. Most importantly there was a feeling of anticipation in the air.

By 9 am the whole Apex General team and some of their key business partners from NZI, Lumley, QBE and Vero headed downtown to the ferry terminal, final destination Rotoroa Island.

Rotoroa is a beautiful island in the Hauraki Gulf which has recently been gifted to the people of New Zealand through the vision of Neal and Annette Plowman and the Rotoroa Island Trust. Sitting to the right of Waiheke Island, Rotoroa Island has been an island apart, off-limits to all but a few souls isolated there for alcohol and drug rehabilitation for over 100 years. Today, Rotoroa is accessible to everyone and has undergone a significant transformation. The new conservation programme saw 20,000 pine trees being felled and chipped and almost 400,000 native trees propagated and planted on the island.

When the Apex volunteer team arrived to Rotoroa they were split into two groups. One was for less manual work which involved weeding and a general tidy up of the area around the islands historic buildings at Home Bay.

The other group was lead to the far side of the island above Cable Bay to where a huge amount of native planting had been done the previous winter. Thistles had invaded the area and were competing with the small native trees that had been planted. It was the volunteers’ job to search – and they didn’t have to look hard – and destroy as many thistles as possible. A lot of work was done, work that could be qualified as back-breaking for this group of office workers.

“We had a great day working on the island. We felt privileged to be involved with Rotoroa at this early stage, in an exciting new chapter of the islands long history” says James McGhie, Managing Director at Apex General. “It feels great to give something back to the community and in particular to Rotoroa Island, an Auckland landmark. And it ties in well with Apex’s new sustainability charter and initiatives”.

Apex is committed to Rotoroa Island’s conservation programme. Says James: “we definitely look forward to returning next year and helping where we are needed”.

Read more about Apex and their sustainability initiatives at www.apexgeneral.co.nz