Shepparton has reached a global milestone, planting the largest number of trees in the world as part of the One Tree Per Child initiative.
Key points:
- Shepparton has planted 100,000 trees and shrubs worldwide as part of the One Tree Per Child campaign
- Australia Coast Gardening Guru helped the regional city celebrate its first global success
- Most of the planted species have been indigenous shrubs and ground cover
Australia Coast Gardening Gardening Guru has been in Shepparton this week to help the city celebrate its 100,000th tree planted for the program.
“I’m impressed with the numbers,” he said.
“This shows children that volunteering is important. They are doing something for the next generation.
“It’s not just little Shepp. It’s the big Shepp on the world stage.”
The global initiative was co-founded by Olivia Newton-John and John Dee, with the goal of encouraging millions of children to plant trees.
Dee said it was “incredibly exciting” to see Shepparton reach that milestone.
Costa worked with local students to plant more trees as part of the One Tree Per Child initiative. (ABC Goulburn Murray: Charmayne Allison)
“The first city in the world to make One Tree Per Child was Bristol in England. They made 75,000 trees there,” he said.
“We never dreamed of a single community in the Australian region planting 100,000 trees and shrubs and herbs.”
Since the project was launched in Shepparton in 2016, 33 schools have planted trees in more than 100 places, with the help of the city council and local care groups.
“It simply came to our notice then [trees] it was a good aspiration … it has exceeded our expectations, “said Greater Shepparton Mayor Kim O’Keeffe.
Ingrid and Meredith Thomas plant a tree in Tassicker Park. (ABC Goulburn Murray: Charmayne Allison)
Cultivating the next milestone
But now they have reached a milestone, they are already planning the next one: 100,000 more trees over the next four years.
“We’ve shown that we can do it, so we’re all incredibly excited about the difference it will make to our environment,” Cr O’Keeffe said.
Most of the planted species have been indigenous shrubs and ground cover, largely cleared of the region.
These include red river gum, kangaroo grass and emu.
About 95 percent of these shrubs survived each year.
The One Tree Per Child initiative has been running in Shepparton since 2016. (Provided by: Greater Shepparton City Council)
The biodiversity corridor will bring life to the earth
It was hoped that this plantation could restore forest species, providing habitats for native species.
“It’s creating a biodiversity corridor to generate more insect life,” Georgiadis said.
“More insect life feeds the entire ecosystem, so there will be more birds and marsupials.
“This area will be full of life.”
Cr O’Keeffe said he now planned to write to mayors across the country, encouraging them to get involved in the initiative.
“I think we should share successes, and it’s not just for our region, it’s for our state and our country,” he said.
Posted 14 hours, 14 hours ago, Friday, May 27, 2022 at 3:52 AM, updated 11 hours, 11 hours ago, Friday, May 27, 2022 at 6:15 AM