Tree Day is an opportunity to do something positive for your local environment, reconnect with nature and your community.
Come and join us at Christison Park on National Tree Day – 31 July 2022. We will plant a range of locally native plants at this scenic ocean foreshore site to beautify the park and extend the habitat corridor for small birds and other wildlife. Everyone is welcome!
After your planting, enjoy some snacks and let the kids join our interactive native wildlife program.
When: Sunday 31 July 2022, 9:30am-12:30pm
Where: Christison Park, Vaucluse
Woollahra Mayor Susan Wynne invites the local community to come and plant trees on National Tree Day (pic: Woollahra Council)
“The whole goal of National Tree Day is to get people involved in planting trees and seedlings and recognising how important the tree canopy is,” said Woollahra Mayor Susan Wynne.
Mayor Wynne has invited the local community to come down to Christison Park on Sunday 31 July from 9:30am to “get involved and have a bit of fun.”
“It’ll be a fantastic place to come and chat to people, have a little bit of community spirit. We’ve also got free food. But more importantly, everyone’s going to get a seedling to plant, and some gloves and people teaching you what to do and how to do it. You can plant your own seedling and come by and see how it’s growing as well,” she said.
For more details visit: www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/treeday
Become a bushcare volunteer
Did you know that you could volunteer as a bushcare volunteer for Woollahra Council? All you need is an interest in protecting the local environment and a few spare hours a week, fortnight or month. As a Bushcare volunteer, you will help to ensure the future ecological sustainability and natural beauty of the Woollahra municipality.
It’s a great way to get outdoors, make new friends and contribute to our local environment.
For more details and to volunteer visit www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/bushcare
Bushcare Volunteer Nicole McMahon
Our favourite must-see local trees
To get excited about Tree Day, we asked some of the Woollahra Council tree staff about their favourite plants in the local area. Their selections range from trees that are hundreds of years old to recently planted saplings, and they span the whole LGA. Why not go and visit one while you’re out for a walk?
If you’ve got free time and walking shoes, you and a friend could even turn this list into an epic tree pilgrimage across the east. Happy National Tree Day!
Joel Pecotich, arborist
My favourite tree is at Camp Cove Reserve. It’s a giant Ficus Macrophylla, or Moreton Bay Fig. I don’t know how it’s grown the way it has, but it has one huge branch that grows straight out of the trunk about two metres above the ground, for four or five metres. The branch is about as thick as a car; it’s just gigantic. It’s like a whole separate tree growing horizontally, cantilevered off the ground. It’s got a great canopy too and the big, buttressed roots of a rainforest tree. Plus it’s in a beautiful spot by the water in Camp Cove.
The magnificent Moreton Bay Fig at Camp Cove (pic: Woollahra Council)
To view the full list of our favourite trees visit www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/localtrees
Top tips for planting a tree on National Tree Day
We asked Woollahra Council’s legendary bushcare coordinator, Rudi Adlmayer, for his top five tips for planting and looking after a healthy tree. Rudi would know: he’s planted thousands.
Rudi Adlmayer planting a tree (pic: Woollahra Council)
- Select the right tree
The most important thing is to select the right tree. If you want to attract magpies and parrots, banksias are great. If you want shade, think about something else. Go for small seedlings in tubestock rather than bigger ones in pots, they’ll grow twice as fast.
- Select the right site
Site selection is key. What kind of soil do you have? Is it sandy or clay, or something else? How much wind and sun does the spot get? Have a look around at the trees and plants that are growing nearby to see if your plant will suit the space.
- Dig and plant
Dig a hole the width of the plant and a bit deeper than the pot. Planting a tiny bit below the surrounding ground is good because the water won’t run off. I always say a depressed plant is a happy plant.
Next, get the plant out of the pot. You’d be surprised how many people skip that step. It’s OK to cut or break the roots if they’re hanging on at the bottom.
If it’s dry you can add 100ml of water at the bottom of the hole, then just put it in, put the soil back and press down around the roots with your hands.
- Mulch and water
Cover with mulch and follow up with weekly watering for the next four months. Unless you get good rain, in which case you can probably skip it. That’s about all the care a native tree needs: they’re a lot lower maintenance than having an ornamental garden or growing veggies.
- Watch out for weeds and lawns
Watch out for weeds and lawns. They will overgrow your seedlings if you don’t clear them from the surrounding area. When we’re planting trees for Council we usually clear the area beforehand and cover it in mulch, which stops the weeds coming back.
That’s about it. Go forth and plant… then maintain!
For more top tree planting tips visit: www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/treetips
Need more trees in your life? Walk the Double Bay Tree Trail
Explore the foreshores and suburban streets of Double Bay to discover our magnificent trees. An online map is available for everyone to follow.
The trail is about 2 kilometres long, starting at Blackburn Gardens near Redleaf Beach then winding through Double Bay and finally heading up along Ocean Avenue to Edgecliff. If you want to avoid walking up the Ocean Avenue hill, walk the trail in reverse.
Visit www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/treetrail for more details.
