Sixty Leanyer Primary School students participated in Planet Ark’s 20th National Schools Tree Day today, planting approximately 400 native trees, shrubs and grasses at Breezes Muirhead.
National Schools Tree Day is an annual event that encourages school students to connect with nature and make a positive contribution to their environment. Since 1996, more than 3.5 million people have planted more than 22 million trees across Australia.
The students and their teachers joined forces with representatives from Greening Australia Northern Territory (GANT) and Breezes Muirhead to revegetate land adjacent to William Forster Park, with plants produced from seeds collected from the site.
Defence Housing Australia (DHA) and Investa Land, developers of Breezes Muirhead supported the event, supplying the plants and providing a picnic lunch for the students.
'By inviting local students to celebrate Schools Tree Day at Breezes Muirhead we hope to impart a lifelong love of nature which will encourage them to engage with and protect their local environment,' said Ruth Lantzke, NT Regional Director, Defence Housing Australia.
'Most of the students had never planted before. Their excitement and sense of achievement at digging a hole, placing a seedling into the soil and watering the plant was obvious,' Ms Lantzke said.
Indigenous trainees participating in Breezes Muirhead’s Aboriginal Landcare Education Programme (ALEP) with Greening Australia also contributed to the success of the day, preparing the planting area and working with small groups of students to assist with the planting.
Many of the students had participated in Breezes Muirhead’s 2014 National Schools Tree Day event, at which students planted more than 300 native seedlings. These plants have grown considerably during the past 12 months and students were in awe of the changed landscape that their activities had achieved.
For further information visit breezesmuirhead.com.au