It was a long process getting the reserve at Lake Boga ready for tree planting. Much of the original forest had been destroyed by European settlement and it took a team of volunteers working over a number of days to prepare the ground.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Heavy machinery was needed to clear the boxthorn.
Lake Boga Landcare Chair Stephen Bates said ’10 years ago there were not many trees or birds here. Now we get blue bonnets regularly and a variety of other bird species. Goannas are here now as well. With this new planting of 90 trees we can extend the habitat’.
Lake Boga and District Landcare Group (LBDLG) partnered with local home-builder G.J. Gardner Homes Swan Hill to work on this site. Darren Hinton from GJG pledged to plant 15 trees for every new home built in 2013 in an effort to counteract some of the carbon emissions released during construction. This company has a real focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices and this project was a great way to put their focus into action.
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]A row of trees with the watering system.
Thank you to Darren and the team from G.J. Gardner Homes for your commitment to the local environment and for showing leadership in the building industry. Across Victoria and Tasmania, this Nationwide company has helped plant over 4,000 trees at sites such as schools and kindergartens, local park-lands, river banks and roadside reserves.
Thank you also to Tricia Pollard from the Lake Boga and District Landcare Group. Tricia has worked for months getting this project completed. It is no mean feat to co-ordinate Fifteen Trees, G. J. Gardner Homes, a host of volunteers (with machinery) and nursery staff.
A welcome contribution to our the wonderful band of volunteers (such as landcare) who work tirelessly to preserve and manage our native heritage.
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According to Sustainability Victoria, the average Australian lifestyle produces 15,000kg of carbon per year. If that sounds like a lot, it is! Over its lifetime, a tree can collect and store 268kg. This means, we each need to plant 58 trees per year to bring our individual carbon production down to zero. A little tricky for most of us to do in our own backyards, and this is where ‘A Subscription for the Planet’ comes in. (Feature image from Mt Worth Landcare).
Individual actions really do matter! Individually we can really only make small differences to the world around us, but collectively our numbers add up. And if enough individuals are involved then forests can be grown!
