Do your bit for the planet at home

In past years, hundreds of people have joined National Tree Day on 2 August, planting thousands of trees to create a greener, healthier environment.

Although we’ve had to cancel group planting events for safety reasons this year, we can all make a difference by planting trees, shrubs, flowers or vegies in our own backyards.

These small steps will not only help our environment, they’ll also make your place cooler and more visually pleasing – and if you go ahead with that vegie patch you can even eat the result of your good work.

In fact, the tough times presented by COVID-19 are a great reason to preserve, grow and enjoy our natural assets.

At a time when we’re all social-distancing, many of us are taking time out to experience our beautiful parks and reserves. Connecting with nature is now more important than ever and we encourage you to get out and about and explore many of the beautiful natural places our region has to offer.

National Tree Day is also a great time to reflect on the success of our past school and community tree planting efforts, which have greatly enhanced spaces such as Apex Park at Lake Hume and Council’s water treatment plant, “Waterview”.

In 2014 a revegetation program began at Apex Park Lake Hume following the removal of radiata pines from the site. This project saw more than ten schools participate in the planting of thousands of local native trees and shrubs over a five-year period.

The area is habitat for the threatened squirrel glider and by planting trees and installing nesting boxes, our community has created homes for the gliders and other native animals.

In 2017, a wide-scale revegetation program began at “Waterview” following the removal of our softwood pine plantations. The program focuses on restoring the site to its natural state of box gum grassy woodland and providing habitat for woodland birds and threatened species such as the squirrel glider.

The theme for this year’s National Tree Day is “Regeneration: for our land, our people and our future” and it encourages all Australians to make a pledge to regenerate through connecting with nature, whether that be by planting a tree in the backyard, doing some bird watching, cycling along our Murray River trails or simply taking a walk outside in our local bushland.