THOUSANDS of TREES
The Thousands of Trees Project is a continuation of the 1,000 Trees for Kentish in 2022 and 2023 Project.
Our volunteer planting days have been so popular and successful that we are now planning to plant thousands of trees in 2024 and 2025.
Autumn 2024 plantings:
Sat 27 Apr - Lorinna. Plantings on two organic farms. Thirty volunteers worked to plant 200 seedlings. After lunch, many stayed to plant an additional 200!
Sun 11 May - a smaller-scale planting on a part-bush block at Wilmot. Fifty seedlings in the ground.
Sat 18 May - Railton. We planted 250 seedlings in an environmentally important site near Redwater Creek. Our planters numbered 44, including some impressive young people from the Kentish Scout Group. View flier.
Sun 26 May - Tasmania Wildlife Hospital, Forth. Over 50 volunteers planted 470 seedlings at this important new facility for the north of Tasmania.
We also partnered with John and Megan of Staunton Farm to plant trees at their certified-organic dairy and beef property just outside Sheffield. Grade 3 and 4 students from Sheffield School did a great job planting 100 trees on Thur 16 May. Staunton Farm held an additional three planting days (22 and 29 May; 2 Jun) with over 300 seedlings in the ground. John and Megan are planning to plant a total of 2000 plants this year. What an inspiring example! In time the plants will provide shelter for farm animals, habitat for native spp., and will increase biodiversity on the property.
The Thousands of Trees Project is funded by the Healthy Tasmania fund through the Tasmanian Government, and is also supported by Kentish Council.
In 2023, we planted a magnificent total of 2296 seedlings!
Huge congratulations to the 224 volunteers who did the planting. A great effort for the Mount Roland region.
Spring 2023 Plantings:
Our volunteers planted 628 seedlings at three different sites. A total of 62 volunteer tree planters participated! The sites were:
Sat 2 Sep - Claude Road, Sheffield
Sat 9 Sep - Nook Road, Sheffield
Sun 19 Sep - "Whitehawk Falls", Sheffield Road, Sheffield
More details here [view PDF].
Autumn 2023 Plantings:
Our volunteers planted a total of 1668 trees at five different sites, with an average of 25 people attending each planting.
The dates and sites were:
Sat 22 Apr - West Nook Road, Sheffield
(at a certified organic dairy)
Sat & Sun 29 - 30 Apr - Sheffield Transfer Station
Sat 6 May - Wilmot School Farm, Wilmot
Sat 13 May - Jarman's Road, Nook
Sat 20 May - Paradise Road Farm, Claude Road, Sheffield.
1000 Trees 2023 Picture Gallery
How the Thousands of Trees Project works:
We seek expressions of interest from landowners with four types of sites, particularly on farmland.
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Beside streams, rivers or waterways.
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On steeper slopes where there is a risk of soil creep (or soil slump).
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Shelterbelts on farms.
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In areas where patches of remnant bushland can be connected by new plantings.
Ideally the site will be in a highly visible location, where it will be easily seen by the public and serve as a demonstration site that inspires other landowners to do similar things.
The project is a partnership between the landholder, MRLC and volunteer tree planters. The landholder is responsible for site preparation, including fencing (to exclude browsing animals), weed control and ongoing maintenance once the seedlings are planted. MRLC provides the plants, guards, mats and stakes, and if needed provides technical assistance to the landowner with advice on species selection and planting layout. MRLC also organizes a public tree planting day, where the seedlings are planted, guarded and watered in as necessary. Volunteer tree planters participate in the public tree planting day – typically a Saturday starting at 10am. After a couple of hours, the planters also enjoy a lunch provided by the landholder as a thank you for their efforts.
Thousands of Trees 2024-5 Expression of Interest
Details of the 2022 plantings can be viewed here.