The great Planet Ark Tree Day initiative was recently embraced by a number of our local councils including Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby and The Hills Shire which all held local community days in the last week of July.
I myself was thrilled to attend a Tree Day of my own on Sunday 28 July at the Mowbray Rotary Athletics Field in Lane Cove North with Willoughby City Council and the Willoughby Environmental Protection Association – WEPA Inc. It was a fantastic day and a great opportunity to connect with the local community in beautiful surroundings.
Nearby, the Ku-ring-gai Council community was invited down to the St Ives Showground to plant a variety of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, grasses and vines in an area of the endangered Duffys Forest. All the varieties planted on the day were endemic to the area and by all accounts, many locals turned up for the event and enjoyed a free BBQ afterwards.
Over at the Hills Shire Council, there was a goal of planting some 4500 trees this year. Mayor of The Hills Shire, Dr Peter Gangemi, said:
“National Tree Day goes beyond simply assisting Council in revitalising the local environment. It involves gaining a greater appreciation for native vegetation and wildlife in our area and fostering stronger community bonds. The event also promotes the significance of our natural areas and the need to conserve these special green spaces for future generations.”
National Tree Day is Australia’s biggest community tree-planting and nature care event. Co-founded by Planet Ark in 1996, it has since had more than 5 million people participate and plant over 27 million native trees and shrubs. If ever there was inspiration to be had then it’s pretty hard to go past such a fantastic example of green initiative.
