ATA RANGI AND PROJECT CRIMSON SERVE UP A SPECIAL COURSE FOR WELLINGTON ON A PLATE

Get out of the office and back to basics this August – with excellent NZ wine, great food, and the planting of native trees.  Thanks to Project Crimson and its ongoing partnership with Ata Rangi, Wellingtonians (and visitors to Wellington) can fill their souls (and their bellies) on Friday 5th August as part of the Wellington on a Plate programme.

“Wellington can be miserable at this time of year” says Project Crimson Executive Director, Bridget Abernethy, “so we think it’s best to embrace it, get the gumboots on and do something great for the soul.”

“We asked our friends at Ata Rangi and Ruth Pretty to ensure our tree planters get well looked after.  The concept is fantastic - because in Wellington we totally get the value of great food and wine, and looking after our natural environment.”

Ata Rangi has been a long time partner of Project Crimson, producing an award winning pinot noir Crimson, in honour of the owners’ collective love of northern rata trees.  Crimson is now sold in over 15 countries, carrying the conservation story throughout the world, and delivering cash back to the Trust to ensure the protection work can continue.

“I discovered mature northern rata trees up in our Bush Block about 8 years ago, and since then have been gathering seed and propagating our own trees” says Clive Paton, owner and manager of Ata Rangi.  “Crimson and our partnership with Project Crimson, emerged around the same time as we became transfixed by the conservation story.”

“This event provides a wonderful opportunity for those with an interest in the environment to participate in a project that will leave a lasting legacy for Wellingtonians  -  and for those who simply want to get out of the office, it’s a chance to sample great wine and food and get some fresh air.”

A bus leaves Wellington (outside Reading Cinema on Courtney Place) at 12.15 on Friday 5th August – and delivers to the Chest Hospital site (a public area in dire need of restoration planting). Tickets for this event can be purchased through the Wellington on a Plate website.

Hilarious and informative entomologist “Bugman” Ruud Kleinpaste will be onsite for a special talk while lunch and wine is enjoyed – in a covered area of the site.