Co-founded in 1996 by Planet Ark and Olivia Newton-John,
National Tree Day
encourages Australians to do their bit for our stunning country by planting a native shrub or tree (or two!) – whether participating as a school (the greatest participants by far), community group, business, organisation or individual resident, you’ll be providing food and shelter for our native wildlife and beautifying Australia at the same time.
In its 14th year, National Tree Day should see the 15 millionth tree planted – that’s one tree for almost ¾ of the population of Australia and an average of over 1 million trees planted every year since its inception. Australia’s National Tree Day 2009 should be a landmark event so make sure you’re part of it.
Annually, over 300 000 people participate in National Tree Day, planting a variety of native trees and shrubs, whose addition will impact positively on the environment for decades to come – combating loss of habitat for our native wildlife, enhancing biodiversity and reversing the effects of climate change.
In areas particularly lacking in native vegetation due to human impact, planting native foliage will additionally combat salinity, halt soil erosion, improve water quality in steams and even push endangered species off the “soon to be extinct” list. While introduced species of plants can look nice and have their benefits, one cannot forget that native plants are made for Australia – they’ve evolved with the very land itself. Our environment needs natives to maintain a balanced ecosystem.
National Tree Day events are being held nationwide, so visit the official National Tree Day website for all the information you’ll need, including tree-planting sites in your town or city:
http://treeday.planetark.com/National Tree Day is organised by Planet Ark in partnership with Toyota and its Dealer network which provide on-the-ground support at local and community tree-planting sites Australia wide. Australian Nurseries and Garden Centres such as
Flower Power are getting behind the cause too, offering discounts on natives in the lead-up.
Related articles:
Terrific Trees Deciduous TreesHow To Plant A Tree - Beginner Gardener
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