Blank copies of the Site Information Sheet can be downloaded and printed as hard copy for using in the field. Record details of your planting site in the boxes as indicated.
Planting site
- Site name – enter your site or project identifier
- Region – enter one of the following regions mostly based on regional council boundaries:
- Northland
- Auckland region
- Waikato
- Bay of Plenty
- Taranaki
- Manawatu-Whanganui
- Gisborne
- Hawkes Bay
- Greater Wellington
- Marlborough
- Nelson
- West Coast
- Canterbury
- Otago
- Southland
- Is this planting site registered at Trees That Count?
- Latitude and longitude – use approximate centre of the planting area
- Land ownership – e.g., private, public, DOC, council, NGO, Maori land
- Previous land use – vegetation cover and use before planting
- Date of planting – to the nearest month
- Planted by – community, landowner, contractor
- Average tree spacing – enter average plant spacing or density of planting per hectare
- Total number of trees planted – use nursery orders for total approximate number of planted that year across the site
- Number of survey plots established within site – if plot-based survey method used
- Any other site notes – e.g., steep vs flat site, presence of fencing, pest animals and weeds present, etc
Species planted
In the table provided list the species and numbers planted across the site if this information is readily available to give an indication of the scale of the planting and the proportion of species planted. This information is often best taken from the plant order lists or the nursery supply lists. It can be expected that actual numbers and species planted can be difficult to obtain due to changes in plant orders and supply, so estimates may be the only practical option.
Species are to be entered using a 6-letter code based on botanical names developed for the National Vegetation Survey (NVS).
Additional information
This is optional and includes:
- Site address – privacy will be adhered to, not mandatory
- Nursery supplier – enter all nurseries that supplied stock
- Site fenced – yes/no
- Fertiliser used – yes/no
- Mulch used – yes/no
- Plant guard used – yes/no
- Pest animals present – e.g., possums, rabbits, hares, goats, deer, feral stock
- Major weeds – list only most aggressive weeds likely to reduce success of planted natives, e.g., gorse, broom, blackberry, wild ginger, kikuyu, etc
Photographs
Taking before and after photographs of your site is always an easy way to confirm a planting. Photographs taken over time will provide a visual record of the development of your planted natives.
Ideally, take a photograph of your planting from a fixed point (known as a photopoint) which can be repeated to systematically capture changes of your planting site over time. Tips for effective photopoints include:
- Locate each photopoint on a high point to best cover a representative section of your planting area;
- Where possible site the camera from a fixed point such as a fence post;
- Select a view which will show changes in your planting area over time framing the view so it will be easy to repeat in future;
- If possible, position the camera to the north of your planting area to minimise shadows and sun glare;
- Have a copy of the last photograph you took from the photopoint to help replicate previous photos as closely as possible; and
- Repeat photographs annually preferably at the same time of the year using the same camera angle and zoom setting.
Avoid taking too many photographs as storage and captioning can be onerous. Setting up one, well-positioned photopoint should be sufficient for most planting projects.