National Tree Day plantings will be held in Wollongong and Shellharbour this weekend. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
Since National Tree Day began in 1996, everyday Australians have helped to plant more than 27 million trees around the country.
Illawarra schools will mark Schools Tree Day on Friday (26 July), while residents are invited to planting events in the region on Sunday (28 July).
An initiative of Planet Ark, National Tree Day has grown into Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature care event.
In Wollongong, residents can help plant native trees, shrubs, and grasses at sites in Berkeley, Figtree and Russell Vale.
Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said trees played an important role in stabilising river and creek banks and the coastal foreshore to prevent erosion during flooding and storms.
“Trees and plants cool our suburbs, reduce pollution, make our natural areas beautiful and provide food and shelter for native wildlife,” he said.
“As the impacts of extreme weather increase, planting more trees and plants is something simple we can all do now to help create a better future.”
Residents can also celebrate National Tree Day by planting a new tree or shrub in their yard.
“With 75 per cent of the land in Wollongong being privately owned, we need everyone to contribute on their own patch to help create a better future together,” Cr Bradbery said.
Wollongong National Tree Planting events:
- Holborn Park on Lake Illawarra, Berkeley, 9:30 to 10:30 am
- Byarong Creek, Figtree, 9 to 10:30 am
- Cawley Park, Russell Vale, 10 to 11 am
Participants should wear enclosed footwear, long pants and sleeves and take a hat and water bottle and gardening gloves if they have them.
Shellharbour Council staff and residents will work together at North Shellharbour Beach from 10 am to 1 pm to plant locally sourced and grown natives to help re-establish the sand dunes.
The Tullimbah Landcare Group will hold its planting a day early on Saturday from 10 am to noon, at Elizabeth Brownlee Reserve, Digby Place, Albion Park. The group is working to restore the Illawarra subtropical rainforest by removing lantana and other weeds and replanting with native species.
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