A spy-style movement for social change scored a huge success on Saturday with a mammoth tree-planting rally on Auckland's Motuihe Island, setting a new national record.

Stepping out from behind its veil of secrecy, The N.O (The Nikolai Organisation) teamed up with the Department of Conservation and the Motuihe Trust to muster 350 'agents' with the aim of creating a forest from scratch in just a day.

The target for the day was 10,000 trees but astonishingly, The N.O 'agents' planted 22,400 trees in just a matter of hours.

Motuihe Trust Chairman John Laurence said: "Our target is to plant 55,000 trees this winter, from seeds collected and grown by Motuihe volunteers. Saturday's amazing achievement means we've planted 40 per cent of our 2009 planting programme in one day - that's a fantastic way to start the season.

"The N.O's effort in breaking the national record shows everyone can be involved in restoring and enhancing New Zealand's natural biodiversity. We're particularly delighted as the tree-planting rally comes shortly after the release of 14 young Kiwi from Kapiti Island, off the lower North Island, onto Motuihe only last month, so it's been a very productive few weeks."

The N.O, which has captured the imagination of young urban New Zealanders, is rapidly becoming a homegrown social networking success story. It aims to bring about positive change on a grand scale. The N.O. is a covert organisation which provides social benefits to its 4000+ members - combining escapism and networking with the aim of positively shaking up the existing order. The Motuihe mission is the largest altruistic initiative The N.O has attempted to date.

Hadleigh Averill, whose company The Agent C is helping co-ordinate The N.O, explained: "We're here to see big ideas take shape and have fun. Our members bring great energy, imagination and commitment to everything they do. They're a terrific Kiwi 'can-do' resource which we're harnessing for this project.

"We saw an opportunity here to help a great cause, and set a record which we did emphatically - the previous record was around 5,500 trees planted on Motutapu Island in 1996 by 219 volunteers."