Right tree, right place, right purpose - but what is ‘right’?

Authors: Mark Bloomberg
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2020, Issue N.Z.J.For. 65(1) 2020, pp 44, May 2020
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: ‘Right tree, right place, right purpose’ is the slogan of Te Uru Rakau’s One Billion Trees programme (1BT). It seems sensible, if not axiomatic - but in practice this slogan may not be easy to apply. Let’s start with how we define the term ‘right’. Like many words in the English language, it can be used in multiple ways. It can be an adverb, adjective, noun or verb, and has several meanings when used as any of these parts of speech. In ‘Right tree’, it is used as an adjective. The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary offers five different definitions of ‘right’ as an adjective, but the two main ones are: (1) ‘(of conduct etc.) just, morally or socially correct’, or (2) ‘true, correct; not mistaken.’

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