Please note: this is an archived news article release

This article was published on Monday, 23 July, 2018. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

National Tree Day is on!

The local National Tree Day event is taking place in Tassicker Reserve at 100 Kittles Road, Shepparton, on Sunday 29 July 2018. Activities start from 10.00am until 12.00pm including a free BBQ, with trees, stakes, weed-mats and equipment provided.

“National Tree Day is the perfect opportunity to continue the great work from the last few years and continue the efforts of One Tree Per Child. Many residents will be aware we have been busy planting in this reserve for the last few years, continuing our efforts this year will enable the reserve to be fully planted with trees. Once the reserve is completed we have identified new reserves to plant next year,” said Mayor Kim O’Keeffe.

“Trees and plants provide great areas for residents to enjoy when out and about, or simply for aesthetic reasons. So why not get involved on Sunday 29 July,” said Cr O’Keeffe.

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 Deputy 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.”

National Tree Day is organised by Planet Ark in partnership with Toyota Australia and its Dealer Network which provides on-the-ground support at tree planting sites across Australia.

To find out more about National Tree Day locally please contact Greater Shepparton City Council on 5832 9700 or click here, for schools please visit treeday.planetark.org. To find out more about the One Tree Per Child initiative visit onetreeperchild.com.