THE biggest community tree-planting and nature-care day specifically for Australian trees – National Tree Day – is on Sunday, July 29.

National Tree Day was founded by Planet Ark and singer Olivia Newton-John in 1996.

Since then, 2.8 million volunteers have planted a staggering 17 million native trees and shrubs on these days. It is a day to get your hands dirty to help the planet and especially our own country, the driest continent on earth.

Schools’ Tree Day is celebrated on Friday, July 27, when more than 200,000 school students and teachers across the country are out planting trees and encouraging children to care and respect the environment.

When the first settlers arrived in the Canberra region (“The Limestone Plains”), it was almost devoid of limestone-adverse trees, the only vegetation being native species.

It is only since the development of Canberra over the last 100 years, with the improvement of soils in hundreds of thousands of gardens, can we grow such a wonderful range of trees.

Most importantly, the likes of Charles Weston and A.E. Bruce, both superintendents of the Parks and Gardens Department, were responsible for massive tree-planting in the streets and urban parks of the early days of the capital.

ONE of the giants in the development of our treed city was Lindsay Dixon Pryor, (director of Parks and Gardens, 1944-1958), not only in the planting of trees in streets and urban parks, but also in the early development of the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Pictured here is the commemorative Eucalyptus pryoriana growing in the gardens and named in honour of Pryor with a plaque telling the story of this amazing, multi-trunked tree.

One interesting tree story, Pryor married Wilma Brahe Percival in 1938, who had a direct connection with the earliest days of Canberra. Her father, Arthur Percival, was surveyor-general and was one of Charles Scrivener’s team in the original surveying of Canberra.

Her second name Brahe was after her great-grandfather, Wilhelm Brahe, famous for cutting the word “dig” into a tree at Cooper’s Creek on the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition. How trees could and can tell stories.

CAN we do without trees? I do not think so and the benefits we enjoy have been created by those who planted trees before us. But we have to more than ever before continue the good work for following generations.

It is vital to encourage children to learn about all aspects of the importance of trees in our environment and the future of the planet. This is why National Tree Day and National Schools’ Day are so important.

Children can be involved on their special day and then encourage their folk to join in again on the Sunday.

The tree or shrub planting does not only involve open parkland areas, it can be for a school playground, or a community group or simply a group of folk in a street, a great way to meet the neighbours. It could even be for a group of friends in a backyard, perhaps folk with a new home and starting their first garden, planting a few Aussie trees and shrubs followed by a barbecue

More information or to register go to treeday.planetark.org/ or call 1388 5000.

Next weekend…

Visit the Yarralumla Nursery; plant an Aussie tree or shrub; create a bush garden; grow plants that will attract native birds to your garden; install a bird bath; buy a copy of “Australian Plants for Canberra Region Gardens”.