On Monday 23rd September 2024, Greater Sydney Landcare hosted a Creating Canopies planting at Mary Street Dog Park, Riverwood in the Georges River Local Government Area.
Creating Canopies is about involving the community in planting hundreds of thousands of native trees & shrubs to reduce urban heat in Greater Sydney.
Creating Canopies Project Manager Danielle Packer and Local Landcare Coordinator – Young Adult Sophie Blair who manages WildVenture Landcare led the day.
Anthony Jenkins, Head Teacher of Horticulture – Landscape Construction + Parks & Gardens, and a Teacher of Landscape Design, Horticulture & Landscape Trades from Padstow TAFE, brought his class along for the planting.
16 students from TAFE NSW Padstow joined us to plant 250 native trees and shrubs. The group also guarded the plants to reduce competition from weeds and browsing from wildlife, and watered them in to give them a successful start in their new home.
As luck would have it, nature pitched in as well. It rained in the week after the planting, which the plants would have loved!
The TAFE students installed gum trees (eucalypts), Prickly-leaved Paperbarks (Melaleuca nodosa), Yellow tea trees (Leptospermum polygalifolium), Silky Hakeas (Hakea sericea), Tick Bushes (Kunzea ambigua), Hop Bushes (Dodonaea triquetra), and Australian Indigo (Indigofera australis).
A number of these plants belong to Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest plant community, which naturally grows in the area. As well as providing habitat, the flowers of these plants will provide nectar for native birds, bees and other wildlife.
In time, these trees will grow to provide more shade for park users, including dog owners and their doggos. They will also provide evaporative cooling to help reduce urban heat in our region.
Thank you to Georges River Council for volunteering this site for increased canopy cover and thank you TAFE NSW and students for supporting this planting. By working together, we’re creating a greener, cooler Sydney.
Get Involved in WildVenture: Landcare for Young Adults
With its priorities of engagement, exploration & restoration, WildVenture invites young adults on an adventure – offering a unique blend of outdoor activities and environmental restoration, connection with nature and other like-minded young adults.
Wildventure Landcare is a dynamic program by Greater Sydney Landcare, designed for young adults in Greater Sydney. Its mission is to blend environmental restoration with outdoor adventure, fostering a new generation of eco-warriors. This inclusive group explores Sydney’s wildest places, fosters lasting friendships, and helps to restore our planet’s precious ecosystems.
If you’re 18-35, why not join WildVenture Landcare today?
Volunteer for Bushcare in Georges River
If you’d like to contribute to environmental efforts in the Georges River LGA, you can become a Bushcare volunteer and regenerate bushland. No experience is necessary as training is provided.
Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare
Find out more about Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare here. Be sure to download our Corporate Volunteering Info Pack.
Get Involved in Creating Canopies
If you’d like to find out how to get free trees planted on your land, visit our Register Your Site for Trees page.
Come along and plant trees with Creating Canopies. Find out what events we have coming up on Greater Sydney Landcare’s Eventbrite page.
About Creating Canopies
Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare are planting 200,000 trees as part of the Greening our City program to help reduce urban heat in Greater Sydney. Proudly funded by the NSW Government.
