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It’s National Tree Day! How can your service reconnect with nature today?
Freya Lucas
Jul 29, 2022
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Planet Ark, organisers of National Tree Day, have encouraged all Australians to consider how they can connect with nature and give back to their local communities by participating in Australia’s largest tree planting and nature care event.
Schools Tree Day (July 29) and National Tree Day (July 31) are Australia’s largest annual tree-planting and nature care events, with plantings taking place across the country on the last weekend of July. Over the last 26 years, over 26 million native trees, shrubs and grasses have been planted by over five million National Tree Day volunteers.“Australians want to have a positive impact on the environment and one of the simplest things we can do to support nature is to plant a tree,” Planet Ark co-CEO Rebecca Gilling said.
“With that one small action you can help cool the climate, provide homes for native wildlife, and make your community a better place to live.”
“Previous National Tree Day research has demonstrated the significant and varied benefits of interaction with nature for children's health, wellbeing and development, so it’s concerning to see that our younger generations are not getting the nature play they need, '' Ms Gilling added.
This week Planet Ark is also celebrating numerous plantings taking place around the country that have been funded through The Seedling Bank program. Launched in 2019 with the goal of supplying native seedlings to schools and community groups, the program has already provided funding for almost 39,000 seedlings to 90 groups around Australia.
A number of these stories are told in this year’s “Tree Talk: Stories from The Seedling Bank” report, including refugee students growing their own ‘living classroom’, wildlife shelters planting native flowering gums to feed rehabilitating animals, schools creating indigenous gardens where plants tell local creation stories and more.
National Tree Day is an initiative organised by Planet Ark in partnership with major sponsor Toyota Australia and its Dealer Network. This year, Planet Ark and Toyota have teamed up with the AFL to plant a tree for every point scored during rounds 17-19, an estimated 4,500 trees. The trees will be donated through Planet Ark's Seedling Bank, to grow a ‘Footy Forest’ across Australia.
For more information or to find a site near you, please visit treeday.planetark.org.
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