The Acorn Foundation's Oak Grove in Cambridge Park opened today marking the charity's first 10 years of operation in the Bay.

Tauranga City Council has designated a portion of the park for the oak grove where 20 young trees were planted at an opening ceremony at 11am.

Tauranga City Councillor David Stewart and partner Heather Griffin plant one of the oak trees.

Acorn Foundation operations manager Margot McCool says every year more trees will be planted in memory of foundation donors who have passed away during the preceding year.

'It's a wonderful legacy to those donors.

'We thought this would be a lovely way to not only have a living memorial to our donors, but also to provide a beautiful haven for the city, which future generations of people can enjoy.”

During its first 10 years, the foundation has developed into a significant asset for the community, says Margot.

She says they're proud of what they have been able to achieve so far and thanks the donors for their incredible generosity.

'It's a well-known fact that a giant oak tree starts off life as a small acorn which, given the right conditions, can flourish and grow.

'The same can be said for the Acorn Foundation.

The foundation has distributed more than $1.6 million in grants to a wide range of community groups and charities across the region in the last 10 years.

'We have more than $8million currently held in endowment funds and other regions throughout New Zealand use Acorn as the community foundation model of choice.”