Gippsland residents have the chance to connect with nature and help improve the health of the Gippsland Lakes this National Tree Day, Sunday 29 July.
Organised by the Maffra and Districts Landcare Network the community tree planting event will take place at Perry Bridge with more than 5,000 native plants to go in the ground.
Event organiser, Darren Williams, said the site is an important one for enhancing the health of Gippsland Lakes.
“The Perry Bridge site is part of the Gippsland Lakes catchment,” explained Darren.
“We’ve been working in and around the Perry River area to constructing fences to protect streamside vegetation, remove weeds, revegetate and treat erosion.
“Stream erosion contributes over 70 per cent of the fine sediment that reaches the Gippsland Lakes.
“This National Tree Day project will help reduce sediments entering the Gippsland Lakes and when these trees have established they will create a buffer between the farmland and the waterway.”
The National Tree Day event will take place adjacent to the Bengworden Road, Perry Bridge – opposite Bruses Road, approximately 14.5 kilometres from Stratford.
The planting will be held from 10.00am to 12.30pm followed by a BBQ lunch. Please RSVP your intention to help on the day by visiting the National Tree Day website https://treeday.planetark.org/site/10018619 or by following the links from the Love our Lakes Facebook page.
Last year over 250,000 people participated in National Tree Day, planting more than 920,000 plants at around 3,200 sites. This brings the initiative’s overall tally of trees planted to almost 24.5 million over 23 years.
Rebecca Gilling, Planet Ark’s CEO, hopes that Australians will beat last year’s planting count and plant at least a million trees, grasses and shrubs.
“The number of trees planted is great to see but what matters most to us is seeing people connecting with each other in nature, using tools as simple as shovels and as complicated as smartphones to better understand and care for our natural environment.”
The theme for 2018 – Connect In Nature – looks at the myriad ways in which technology can enhance time outdoors and enrich our appreciation for the natural world using apps and other digital resources.
The Perry Catchment project is funded by the Victorian State Government for the health of the Gippsland Lakes.
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