Community tree planting day marks 20 years of restoration

A COMMUNITY tree planting day at Lennox Headland will mark more than 20 years of restoration work and the planting of over 13,000 native trees.

Ballina Shire Council and environmental engineering company GeoLINK will host the annual event on Friday, June 6, to coincide with World Environment Day.

Since the project began in 2003, more than 1650 volunteers have helped plant native seedlings across seven hectares of coastal habitat.

Council’s natural resource officer James Brideson said the involvement of local businesses, schools and residents had been key to the program’s success.

“Each year, the local community come together to regenerate this precious coastal environment, helping to restore what was once present pre-1800s,” Brideson said.

“What started as a small-scale project has grown. We’ve now planted over 13,000 trees and covered over seven hectares.”

The revegetation is part of council’s long-term strategy to support native biodiversity and protect threatened ecosystems by restoring critical wildlife habitat.

GeoLINK senior ecologist Veronica Silver, who has worked on the project since it began, said it had been rewarding to watch the landscape evolve.

“I’m proud to have been part of this valuable restoration project as a GeoLINK staff member for over 20 years,” she said.

“I love walking past the plantings from previous years on the way up to the headland. It’s been a joy to watch the plants grow in the restored littoral rainforest, which now provides a habitat for birds and reptiles.”

“Along with planting trees, we also provide educational talks to help educate and inspire the kids who come along,” Silver said.

This year’s event runs from 9am to noon at the top of Lennox Headland.

Participants are encouraged to bring digging tools if they have them, but council will also provide native seedlings, mulch, water and tools.