Thomas Stazyk, whom you would have read commenting here — and, I do declare, the king, the prince, the veritable emperor of funny posts — is the creator of a wonderful project called CUE Haven on his property at Araparera on New Zealand’s north island.
Thomas and his wife, Mahrukh, bought the 60 acre property in 2003 with the intention of establishing it as a retreat where people could
… come together to relax and rejuvenate their minds by sharing ideas and ideologies, and learning from each other in a personal and substantive way.
Cue enlightenment
They decided to call it CUE Haven, a place for Cultivating Understanding and Enlightenment. And the common meaning of “cue” – a signal to begin or enter, a stimulus that guides behaviour – fitted perfectly.
So CUE Haven it was. As the years passed, and more and more of the neighbouring farms were subdivided for “lifestyle blocks and property development”, Thomas and Mahrukh decided a change of plan was in order. Rather than build a centre for a retreat, they decided to convert the farm back to native forest.
As Thomas says,
Approximately 24% of the property was already covered in native forest and wetlands and we thought that it would be wonderful if we could create a sustainable forest ecosystem by restoring the connectivity between the forest remnants.
In perpetuity
There are numerous benefits of the revegetation project including:
- providing a wetland/forest reserve the community can “enjoy for generations”
- enhancing biodiversity and wildlife
- preserving the waters that flow into the nearby harbour.
Thomas and Mahrukh are also establishing a covenant over the land so the forest will exist in perpetuity, and be protected from logging.
Remade and remembered
CUE Haven provides many opportunities for people to contribute to creating the forest. One of them is to plant a tree to remember a loved one.
The memorial planting program is such a happy idea: the forest is remade as the person is remembered.
Presently, CUE Haven is planting Dacrycarpus Dacrydioides, also known as Kahikatea, as memorial trees. Thomas says,
The Kahikatea are the tallest NZ native trees, growing to 50 metres or more, and they live several hundred years, so these trees will live on long after we have all gone.
The memorial trees are planted at random so as to assist in recreating the forest. They can be planted by the family and friends of the person being remembered. Thomas assures prospective planters that digging the hole “takes less than 10 minutes.”
Alternatively, CUE Haven can plant the tree on your behalf and email you a photo.
Speaking to the listening heaven
When my father died recently Thomas asked me whether I’d like a tree planted in his memory. I said, yes, very much. So this weekend Thomas will plant a tree for my father, and from time to time I will think of the tree growing in a forest in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.
~ Rabindranath Tagore (from the CUE Haven website)
For more information …
To plant a memorial tree, or more information on CUE Haven, go to the website here.
Lovely post. Lovely thought that such a magnificent tree will be just across the water.
We planted a Redwood tree in our creek bed in honor of my father. Now, it is 50 feet or more tall. I planted a Sequoia in honor of my son-in-law’s mother Geri, who passed 11 years ago.
The Sequoia is the largest of the trees, I believe.
We are planting olive trees next year. When we begin that process, I shall plant one in honor of your father.
Cheri, thank you. My father loved olives. That would be magnficent Nxx
Thanks for the lovely post! It was a pleasure to plant a tree for your dad and we hope you can come see it some day.
Thanks for everything, Thomas. It was good to be able to write about your wonderful project. I will come and see it one day. Save some weeding for me too!