More than 150 volunteers in the Bay of Plenty are celebrating a milestone today after the one millionth plant was planted in the dunes at Mount Maunganui today.

Arataki Girl Guide leader Hayley Laban and Girl Guide Charlotte Marshall,9, beside the one millionth plant. Photos by Zoe Hunter.

Coast Care is celebrating the significant efforts put in by volunteers to plant one million plants in the last 19 years with an event opposite 50 Marine Parade on Sunday.

The one millionth plant was planted by Arataki Girl Guide leader Hayley Laban after her name was pulled out as the lucky volunteer to help place the one millionth plant in the ground.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council land management officer Amy Greaves says more than 150 volunteers took turns to plant a handful of plants on the dunes along Marine Parade today.

Among the volunteers were Mount, Papamoa and Arataki Girl Guides who have been involved in Coast Care programme's planting days for more than 10 years.

Coast Carers from around the region joined in and the public was invited to bring along a spade and join them too.

Some volunteers travelled from outside the Bay of Plenty especially to take part in the special planting day.

The Coast Care programme is a community partnership programme where volunteers work together to re-establish the function of local beaches and dunes by undertaking planting and restoration work.

There are 25 Coast Care community volunteer groups throughout the Bay of Plenty and around 3500 community members are currently involved in protecting and managing the coastal environment through planting native plants, building fences and other restorative work along the dunes.

Amy says the four goals of the planting days are to raise awareness about dunes, involve local communities in coastal management, protect and restore biodiversity and maximise dune resilience to coastal hazards.

She says volunteers in the Bay work tirelessly to replant dunes with native plants, and fence off sensitive areas from stock, pedestrians and vehicles.

Contact Heidi Fraser at Bay of Plenty Regional Council on 0800 884 881 extension 8529 to get involved in the Coast Care Programme.

Brylee Comer, 11, and her little sister Katelyn, 8, enjoyed planting plants today.

Sasha Kerrigan,11 and Caley McCulloch, 10, planting their plant.