National Tree Day on Sunday 31 July proved to be a huge success in Greater Shepparton, with more than 150 people planting 1300 native trees in less than two hours.
Organised by Greater Shepparton City Council and RiverConnect, residents of all ages attended 22 Huggard Drive in Mooroopna to plant native grasses, groundcovers, shrubs and trees to mark the national day.
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Anthony Brophy said the community response was fantastic, with the large turnout on the day a credit to the community’s appreciation and understanding of our natural environment.
“A big thank you to everyone who attended our National Tree Day celebrations on Sunday. The turnout was fantastic and allowed around 1300 native trees to be planted in the area,” he said.
“Council will continue to spread the important message of maintaining and enhancing the environment for our native wildlife and to ensure our region is a great place to live.”
National Tree Day was founded in 1996 and has since grown into Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature protection event. Since its launch there has been 26 million trees planted across Australia, with five million volunteers donating a total of 10 million hours.
The plants and materials used on the day came from Council’s One Tree per Child Program, which recently celebrated its 100,000th tree planting, with the aim to plant a native tree or shrub in the region for every child aged 18 or under. Attendees on the day spent a couple of hours planting followed by a barbecue lunch hosted by the Lions Club of Shepparton.
“Council were extremely pleased to be able to get outdoors and celebrate this important day following the last two years’ cancellations due to Covid restrictions,” Cr Brophy said.
“We look forward to next year’s event to see if we can beat the impressive planting tally.”
National Tree Day is an initiative organised by Planet Ark in partnership with major sponsor Toyota Australia and its dealer network.
