What is National Tree Day?
Busy Tree Day 2007 Volunteers
National Tree Day and Schools Tree Day combine to make Australia's biggest community tree-planting and nature care event. Co-ordinated by Planet Ark and proudly sponsored by Toyota, these are special days for all Australians to help out by planting and caring for native trees and shrubs to improve the environment in which they live. National Tree Day was co-founded by Olivia Newton-John and Planet Ark in 1996 and since then more than 2.8 million volunteers have planted over 17 million native trees and shrubs! It's a day to get down and get your hands dirty to help the planet!
"I had lots of fun on (National Tree) Day and I can't wait to do it again next year!"
A Special Day For Schools
Each year, around 200 000 Australian school students participate in a
special National Tree Day event designed just for children – Schools Tree Day! It’s a
wonderful opportunity for children to make a contribution
to Australia’s natural environment and have lots of fun at the same
time.
Getting involved in Schools Tree Day is a great thing to do. You can
see your teachers get their hands dirty, make your school look
beautiful, have fun with your friends and help the environment all at
once!
For more information about getting your school involved visit our Teacher Resource pages.
Interested in volunteering for National Tree Day?
If you would like to volunteer at a site, click here.
If you would like to register a site, click here.
Want to know more before you jump in head first? Read some of our Tree Day stories here.
A short word about native plants
National Tree Day and Schools Tree Day promote planting and caring for native trees and plants. Australia is a massive continent. It is also a very old continent. Australian plants have had a long time to adapt to local conditions. Transplanted to another site with a slightly different climate, an Australian plant could simply curl up and die OR it could establish itself as an invasive weed species and out-compete other native species in its new home. This then becomes a problem for local wildlife who have also adapted - to particular types of habitat and to particular food plants. The Cootamundra Wattle is an example of a native Australian species that has moved out of its local area to become a widespread weed.
At Planet Ark we believe it is important to maintain and support local bio-diversity. In places all around the world that people love to visit, plants bring their special colours, textures and smells to make those places unique. So we do not promote the planting of introduced species and we strongly recommend that sites are only planted under the supervision of an experienced and knowledgeable bush regenerator. Even in urbanized areas there can be remnant native plants that represent an important source of local biodiversity, often threatened by the pressures of urban living.
If you need further information, please contact the National Tree Day hotline on 1300 88 5000 or use our contact form.
