A change that is growing

Tag : light weight bearing

A cup of tea on a film set led to an annual event that this yearwill notch up 12 million trees planted across Australia, writesJennie Curtin.
Back in the days when climate change was muttered about inscientific circles but rarely anywhere else, an Australian primeminister promised to plant 1 billion trees.
Bob Hawke made the ambitious pledge in 1989 as Australia buckledunder the weight of severe land degradation, salinity and erosion.Although it sounded an impossible dream, more than 700 million werereportedly planted before the government lost the 1996 election andthe program was scrapped.
Not long after that the founder of Planet Ark, Jon Dee, and theAustralian entertainer Olivia Newton-John, were also mulling overthe plight of the land.
"Olivia and I were having a cup of tea in Los Angeles," Dee says."We were waiting for a film crew to set up … We were sittingaround the table and got talking about how as children we all usedto plant trees as part of Arbor Day.
"One of the key things about Australia is that we have lost so muchof our tree cover through land clearing … We felt we reallyneeded to do something positive about getting people to plantnative trees and shrubs in their local area."
Their idea was to create National Tree Day to encourage Australiansto do their bit to help regreen the land. Now into its 13th year,it hasn't had quite the impact of Hawke's old program but on Sunday- this year's National Tree Day - the 12 millionth native tree orshrub will be planted.
Not bad for something dreamt up over a cuppa.
Dee recalls how nervous he felt in that first year: "It was like aparty - will anyone come? But it was great - I think it was about5000 people in the first year and I remember thinking, 'My God,where did they all come from?' "
They came from all over - and continue to do so. A look at thewebsite, where councils, bushcare and landcare groups, schools,clubs and others have registered their plans, shows that trees willbe planted across the country, in every state and territory, incities, towns, suburbs and remote outback settlements - from northQueensland to southern Tasmania, down the east coast, across thecentre and to the south-west tip of WA.
Last year 290,000 Australians participated at more than 3000 sites,according to Planet Ark's media manager, Karen Billington. Thereare also about 200,000 students involved in Schools Tree Day, whichis celebrated on Friday to enable planting during school hours.
Native trees and shrubs are recommended, as they provide shelterand habitat for birds and animals. They will also be better adaptedto Australian conditions and are likely to be more tolerant ofdrought. Billington suggests councils should be the first port ofcall to find the best species for a particular area, bearing inmind not only soil types and climatic conditions but also how muchspace is available and in what kind of setting. A towering eucalyptcan look magnificent in a park but is prone to dropping limbs soshould not be planted where its branches overhang houses.
Climate change provides even greater need to plant more trees. Itis estimated every tree can absorb up to one tonne of carbon in itslifetime.
"Nine out of 10 people are concerned about the future risks, theimpact that climate change is going to have on Australia's kids,"Dee says. "There are some easy things we can do, like changing thelight bulbs and replacing shower heads, but of all the things youcan do, probably the most satisfying is to go out and plant atree."
Dee is convinced that National Tree Day is here to stay. "It'sbroad, like Clean Up Australia. It shows that helping theenvironment isn't just for a few committed individuals. It's abroad-based group of people who are willing to go out and get theirhands dirty," he says.
"This weekend you are going to have the situation where someoneplanting a tree will be our 2 millionth volunteer and someone elsewill be planting our 12 millionth tree or shrub. And I just lovethe fact that because of that one conversation over a cup of tea wehave been able to effect such change."