Eastwoodhill is the name of the National Arboretum of New Zealand, and is located near the city of Gisborne in the North Island.
It acts as an arboreal ark, or a safe haven, for threatened and endangered trees not only from New Zealand but from around the world.
At time of this posting they have over 15000 trees, from over 2300 species, from 81 different countries and 6 continents. All trees are properly planted outdoors in the ground, and grow naturally.
This is a long term project aiming to help with species protection, along with research, and if needed propagation of trees. They have a 100-year masterplan for what they are trying to achieve.
It is open to the public – for a reasonable entry fee – and they are a number of walks you can do to either visit specific growing areas, or see most of the park. Trail maps are available from the visitor centre, or can be downloaded from their website.
This is a great way to experience examples of nature and forests from around the world in one place, while helping their important goal of being a tree ‘ark’ and preserving examples of many of the world’s threatened trees.
Learn more by visiting the Eastwoodhill website here.