A group of Hobsons Bay community members of all ages got their hands dirty in the name of greening Melbourne’s west.
As part of National Tree Day on Sunday, July 31, 100 volunteers attended Hobsons Bay council’s main event at Altona Coastal Park.
This year’s event was a joint project with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and their Port Phillip Bay Fund program.
On Saturday, July 30, members of the Hobsons Bay Wetlands Centre and Grassy Plains Network joined Hobsons Bay council conservation rangers to hold a planting event in celebration of National Tree Day.
All up, 29 people planted 240 grasses at Truganina Park in Altona.
The Altona events were among a number of other events held across Melbourne’s west, with more than 15,000 tree saplings planted over the weekend.
Environment and Climate Action Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said western Melbourne has the lowest tree canopy cover in metropolitan Victoria, with a 2018 study showing there was 5.5 per cent of urban tree cover, compared to 17.4 per cent in the inner south-east and 25.9 per cent in the east.
“We’re planting trees for a cooler and shadier west,” she said.
“Together with our investment in parks, we’re boosting liveability, improving air quality and tackling climate change by cutting our emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.”
Details: treeday.planetark.org
