Planters to dig in on National Tree Day

VOLUNTEER planters across the region will be getting their hands dirty this Sunday when they take part in National Tree Day.

Locally, Bellarine Bayside will again host an event, running a community planting day on July 30 to rejuvenate and refresh a regionally endangered area of Indented Head coastal saltmarsh.

Local planter and Friends of Point Richards member Pam Wilkie confirmed she and several members of the group would take part in the Sunday, July 30 planting in Indented Head.

Ms Wilkie said it was important, as community volunteers, to plant as often as possible.

“I, like a lot of others in the Bellarine community, am committed to do all I can to rehabilitate the environment across the Bellarine’s coastline.

“A lot of what Friends of Point Richards does is weeding and maintenance, so any chance to actually plant is a real bonus.

“It’s also terrific to link up with other community members and I always come out of events like this weekend’s encouraged and inspired to do more.”

National Tree Day events have planted over 26 million trees since 1996 and is Australia’s largest community tree-planting event.

Bellarine Bayside coastal conservation co-ordinator Hayley Pickering said the planting event is available to anyone willing to take part in a fun, social event.

“We’ll start the day with a planting demo and a safety talk to start, and then we’ll be there throughout the day for support as we plant up to 500 trees,” Ms Pickering said.

“The area we’ll be focusing on is really significant for our little population of red-capped plovers, as they particularly like to rest on that part of the coastline.

“But with erosion we need to do more plantings to create a habitat linkage and make the beach and shoreline more resilient to erosion events.”

Sunday’s event will run from 10am to 1pm with a barbecue to be held at the conclusion of the planting.

Volunteers are to meet at the corner of Brett Drive and The Esplanade, Indented Head.

For more details, email Jane Shearer at [email protected] To find a planting event near you, head to treeday.planetark.org