ReLeaf Summer 2022

MESSAGE FROM our President and CEO PresidentJeanetteGellard

Honouring the cycle of life, amongst families, ecosystems and communities is embedded in our way of working at Trees For Life. Building on the legacy of our ancestors and following the footsteps of our Elders, our actions seek to leave the planet in a better place for future generations. Our work honours the seasons and years that influence nature’s cycles.

This edition of ReLeaf celebrates the multiple generations of change makers dedicated to restoring our land to health and the rhythms of nature that underpin our work.

No one evokes the spirit of Trees For Life more profoundly than Betty Westwood OAM. It was an honour to witness Betty posthumously inducted into the SA Environment Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the SA Environment Awards in September. Her legacy is honoured in our Westwood Nursery and in the thousands of seedlings planted across the state each year.

It has been a privilege to deliver the Paddock Tree Project in the Mount

Lofty Ranges where we have been working with 100 landholders since 2016, to plant the next generation of precious trees already providing habitat for a suite of precious woodland birds, like the beautiful hooded robin.

Read about the latest chapter in our Memory Tree partnership with Alfred James Funeral Directors — another program that has endured over nearly three decades, resulting in over 55,000 native seedlings being planted in locations around South Australia as living memories of loved ones who have passed away.

Our Christmas appeal this year is ‘Season of Seed’, and we invite you to support us in our quest to make the most of an abundance of native seed across South Australia following our high rainfall. We have several regional expeditions planned and your support is vital to make these a reality.

As you gather with friends and family to celebrate the end of another year, please enjoy the beauty and gifts of nature. Stay safe and well and we look forward to connecting with you in 2023. 

Trees For Life acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of our land and waters and we pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge and respect the deep spiritual connection and relationship that First Nations peoples have to Country.

Cover photo: Paddock Tree Project landholders Jono and Kirby Crawford with their daughter Sahara.

For countless centuries native trees and plants have been setting seed in the hope of offspring — a chance to pass their genes on to the next generation. With every season they weather changing temperatures, the uncertainty of water and the potential of bushfire as they strive to bring forth new life. Their sense of timing is finely tuned. And when conditions are right they will take the opportunity to produce seed. When it’s your season — anything seems possible.

a vital role in ensuring the future of our home. Storing a unique collection of local provenance seed from South Australia — with over 435 native species secured from locations across the state.

Now is the time for us to gather this precious gift. The past three years of sustained rainfall has encouraged our trees and plants to respond by setting seed. We now have a small but critical window of opportunity to take advantage of this season of abundance. It’s going to be an immense job requiring a specialised team.

Every tiny seed holds the hope for generations to come. This is why the Trees For Life Seed Bank plays such

We need support to make the most of this extraordinary and unexpected gift from nature. Who knows if we will ever see conditions this favourable again?

TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

Without them we cannot grow, we cannot protect and we cannot restore.

Cocky’s tongue (Templetonia retusa)

TIME TO GATHER UP

The Trees For Life Seed Bank is our insurance policy for the future.

Through our comprehensive approach, we have access to 435 different species of seed gathered from 42 different zones across the state. This sophisticated system of collection positions our Seed Bank as a unique South Australian treasure.

Timing is key. We need to take advantage of nature’s bounty while it’s available. Right now, planning is underway for a number of seed collecting expeditions to regional South Australia. Over the next few months, from December to February, we will be concentrating our efforts to maximise seed gathering.

BELOW LEFT: Daniel at a seed collection workshop.

BELOW: Volunteer Phil extracting Xanthorrhoea seed.

FAR RIGHT: Phil surveying the landscape by Bill Doyle.

Some of the trips planned:

South East: Bordertown to Naracoorte

Targeting primarily cockie food species; banksia (Banksia marginata and Banksia ornata), buloke (Allocasuarina luehmannii) and hakea species. As well as any acacia, grasses and daisies that are available to collect.

Yorke Peninsula: Stansbury to Marion Bay

Targeting all acacia species available, as well as grasses, lilies and daisies in order to increase

the diversity of the Yorke Peninsula seed supply. One specific target species is Cocky’s tongue (Templetonia retusa) which is having a particularly good year of flowering.

Mid North: Balaklava to Jamestown

Targeting a number of acacia species, as well as senna, dodonaea and many grass species. The aim is to capitalise on a wet year in a region with minimal remnant vegetation and increase the diversity of our Mid North seed supply.

Trees For Life’s Seed Bank Manager Daniel will be taking the lead on this important project. Seed collection expeditions to remote and regional locations for extended periods require significant field work and logistical support. To undertake seed gathering of this scale will require extra boots on the ground. It’s going to be a substantial job and needs considerable experience and skill to ensure success.

TIME FOR SAFE KEEPING

Once collected, the precious seed is transported from locations across the state to the Trees For Life Seed Bank processing area. This vital stage requires a steady hand and hours of concentration to reveal each tiny piece of life. After undergoing a protective treatment, sorting and labelling, the seed is now ready to be placed securely in our Seed Bank vault. This safeguarding approach has stood us in good stead. Our ability to assist with bushfire recovery serves as a reminder of the importance of having a seed store we can draw upon to help restore the land. When times are good we need to act so we can respond when times are hard.

Donating to our Christmas Appeal means we can make the most of this 'Season of Seed’.

Seed

It’s a sunny morning as I load my car with gear and head out of town, collecting permit in hand. I’m heading to the Mid North to collect seed for Trees For Life. Today I have a request from our Seed Bank Manager Daniel, to collect some Inland Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon ssp. pruinosa) for our Tree Scheme Goyder Zone, one of the 40+ zones scattered around the state. While years of experience have suggested where I might get this seed, I know three things:

1. I will be heading off the bitumen on to one of the thousands of quiet back roads that most people never get to,

2. I will not just be looking for blue gum, but any native plant that might be in seed and suitable for our Seed Bank, and

3. Just because I know where to get something doesn’t mean I won’t explore new and different places to collect.

That’s the way it’s gone for me for (unbelievably) over half my life. I joined Trees For Life in 1992, with a healthy love of the bush having been a surveyor. Despite the terrible damage done to our native vegetation over the last 180+ years, there are still so many out of the way places where you can come across rare treasures.

I could drive the quiet road reserves of rural South Australia for several lifetimes and still not have to repeat my route. And it’s not just road reserves, the state is filled with lesser known places that might just be a refuge for that rare plant we need, or that could be added to the already extensive list of plants we grow. It never stops, and if you keep yourself open to the changes around you, there is always something new to see and learn. 

Every gift helps safeguard our South Australian native trees and plants.

Help us to gather up this precious hope for future generations.

$35 can help collect one bag of seed

$75 can help fund an exploration vehicle for a day

$120 can provide essential equipment for a seed expedition

$386 can help fund a day of seed processing

$650 can help fund a day of seed exploration in regional SA

$1,544 can help fund four days of seed processing

$3,250 can help cover expedition costs to regional SA

PLEASE DONATE TODAY.

Simply scan the QR code, visit treesforlife.org.au or call us on 08 8406 0500.

Phil, Seed Collection volunteer

collecting is part adventure, part detective work and part sheer enthusiasm for the hundreds of poorly known native plants that are waiting to be better known.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF PADDOCK TREES

Since 2016, our Paddock Tree Project has helped heal the land by restoring the scattered trees that are

synonymous with the low rainfall grazing country in the northern and eastern Mount Lofty Ranges. The primary aim of the project is to provide critical habitat for a range of ground-foraging woodland bird species whose numbers have declined significantly in the region in the past ten years, with some species having already disappeared from other parts of the Adelaide Hills. This coincides with the decline of paddock trees, which are vital to the health of Australian farming landscapes. Paddock trees provide shelter and shade for livestock, improve soil and water retention, reduce salinity, minimise erosion and increase biodiversity. These trees are declining because of poor health, old age and fire, and with grazing pressure, the next generation of paddock trees cannot make it to maturity. To ensure these trees continue to provide biodiversity and production benefits, extensive areas of habitat — on a scale of thousands of hectares — are being planted with scattered trees through this project.

LEFT: A surviving paddock tree watches over the next generation.

ABOVE RIGHT: Jono and Kirby with their daughter Sahara at their Adelaide Hills property.

The Paddock Tree Project has focused on properties where populations of target bird species still exist. Partnering with landholders to plant scattered trees at low density is a relatively small intervention to reinstate a critical habitat feature and we have worked across 13,562 hectares of land. Over the course of the project we planted and guarded 28,141 paddock trees across 125 properties in the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Stuart Gonda joined Trees For Life as Paddock Tree Project Coordinator in 2021. After reaching out to interested landholders, Stuart set out to survey the farmland and get to work on the next phase of the project. He recently caught up with the Crawford family — Jonathan (Jono), his wife Kirby and their daughter Sahara — on their 500 acre property in the Adelaide Hills to share their experience with the project.

Stuart: What motivated you to get involved in the project and how did you hear about it?

Jono: My mother has been involved in conservation for a long time. We’ve got our own tree plantings on the property which we’ve done before and we did a trial with the Paddock Tree Project in about 2016, as they were trialling different guards to see how they went with different livestock. Following on from the 2019 bushfires we were keen to remediate parts that were burnt as were a majority of the district.

Stuart: As a farmer what do you see as the benefits of having those trees on your land?

Jono: Obviously as protection of stock with calving and lambing and so forth, but generally the biodiversity that it brings. As landholders we know that we have to look after the land we have, our livelihood comes from it and the more we look after it the better it will be and hopefully it will be in a better condition for the next generation.

Stuart: As a parent of four kids, what does it mean to you to have these trees on your property and to be looking after these native aspects going forward?

Jono: I think it’s really important as I’ve understood from both my parents and grandparents to look after the land that we are lucky enough to be a custodian of. I want to make sure we keep doing that for our children and for them to understand the importance of that and be excited and involved in doing similar projects going forward. We’ve planted a lot of trees on the property prior to the Paddock Tree Project and they understand it, they learn about it a lot at school and we talk about it a lot at home and in our wider family.

I’d add to that, that the benefit of the trees we’ve planted in the most recent season of the Paddock Tree Project will be of greater benefit to our kids in their lifetimes rather than in mine. Obviously the best time to plant a tree is ten years ago, or yesterday and the second best time is right now.

Stuart: I’m interested to know about the impact the project has had in the community, have you noticed the paddock trees elsewhere or had any discussions with neighbours or others in the area?

Jono: Absolutely ... particularly following on after the bushfires. Our region was devastated, as were many in Australia. It was pretty tough with the loss of biodiversity and of course trees. I think this has been a really positive thing to get the community involved in rehabilitating and helping our environment to recover but also from a community standpoint it was pretty hard on a lot of people physically and mentally — it’s been a really positive thing for them to build on. You certainly see the guards around as they stand out around the district, also seeing the signage on fences it’s a great thing.

We thank the Crawford family, and all Paddock Tree Project landholders, for their commitment to improving the health of their farmland where the next generation of paddock trees that have been planted can continue to thrive for decades to come.

My mother has been involved in conservation for a long time.

Stuart: I think for myself as the coordinator of the project it’s been really rewarding to be able to connect landholders and make a continuous belt of paddock trees.

I know that at least for the next generation those paddock trees will grow and connect up areas as well. It has been very satisfying and I’m very thankful the landholders have come on board and supported the project.

Jono: I talk about it often with my neighbours and have had a lot enquiries from a lot of other landholders in the area and how they might be able to get involved. Obviously it’s got limited funding … and hopefully you’ll get more funding as there’s an appetite around the district to keep this important project going.

Stuart: I agree, and I’ll just touch on something you said before as well in the recruitment phase of the project. I often asked landholders about their experience in the Cudlee Creek bushfires and it was obviously a very stressful and emotional time for a lot of people. One of the comments that was made was that you know you can get insurance for a burnt shed, you can get some help putting up fences again — I think Blaze Aid did an amazing job with that — but there is no way of getting back all those old trees. There were so many that were lost so to be able to address that for landholders has been a privilege for me.

Jono: A lot of big significant trees were lost. Our property was affected by the fires but we were very fortunate. We lost about 70 acres but didn’t lose any livestock, no one was injured or hurt and we lost a few fences — but that was nothing compared to the tragedies that others suffered. We did lose some big trees, particularly on the western side where we have put some trees

in to replace them. It’s been great to be able to have another generation coming through. It’ll take a long time for them to reach that height — they’ll probably be a couple hundred years old at that point — but we’ve got to start somewhere.

Stuart: I think a few more seasons like this and they’ll get up there pretty quickly! It’s been a great year to do it. As a participant in the project how do you think it went in terms of organisation? I think there were 350 [trees planted] across your property. How did it go?

Jono: It went well! I guess we were just anxious to get them in the ground prior to the good rain coming through, in terms of the logistics, the materials coming out, the contractors coming out that was all very seamless. Once they started planting they were ripping into it and every night when I had come home or gone out into the paddock to see the progress was really exciting. One of my boys came home from boarding school over the weekend and they were anxious to see how it had progressed during the week so yeah, it was wonderful. No complaints about the project or the process at all, how can you complain about something you were given as well? The season as well has been fantastic and we couldn’t have hoped for better rainfall at this stage in the year so a great start for those trees for sure.

Stuart: As you probably know the project targets properties where we know there are birds, ground foraging woodland birds in particular. So what we are trying to do is ensure habitat for those birds in the future by securing the next generation of trees — so that’s part of the reason we approached you to work on your property. Is it important for you to have that

birdlife around? What does that mean for you?

Jono: It absolutely is! We’re very lucky here, sitting out in the garden we’ve got a great suite of little wrens around the house and on the property. We think it’s important and … the trees are helpful for our cattle and sheep but obviously for the protection for birds and all the other animals that live there and through those corridors as well. Sitting out on the balcony and watching wedge-tailed eagles, there’s just a lot of bird life out there. 

RIGHT: Brown treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) in a tree hollow.

BELOW: Jono (left) catches Stuart (right) up on the progress of the paddock trees on their Adelaide Hills property.

I think for myself as the coordinator of the project it’s been really rewarding to be able to connect landholders and make a continuous belt of paddock trees.

This is a partnership project, with on-ground work delivered by Trees For Life, guided by a Coordination Committee, with members from Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board and Department for Environment and Water. Planting plans are developed in close consultation with landholders. Funding has been provided by the state and federal governments.

You’ll find more information in our Paddock Tree Project Impact Report 2016-2022 on our website. We are currently seeking further funding to continue the Paddock Tree Project. Please contact Amelia Hurren, Bush For Life Manager, at ameliah@treesforlife.org.au for more information.

We think it’s important and … the trees are helpful for our cattle and sheep but obviously for the protection for birds and all the other animals that live there and through those corridors as well.

MEMORY TREE WALK

Santosh Kalwar

The Memory Tree Program is a partnership between Alfred James Funeral Directors and Trees For Life to plant native trees as a living memorial for loved ones who have passed away. For over 25 years, this enduring and heartfelt program has resulted in over 55,000 native seedlings planted to honour the lives of South Australians in a number of locations including Recreation Parks at Cobbler Creek and O’Halloran Hill (now part of Glenthorne National Park-Ityamaiitpinna Yarta), as well as Monarto Zoo.

While the location of Memory Tree plantings has changed over the years, the purpose has remained constant

— the creation of native habitat as a living tribute. Native seedlings are grown in the Trees For Life Westwood Nursery at Brooklyn Park with species carefully selected for their suitability to the planting site and value to local biodiversity.

In the last few years, a new Memory Tree Walk was created at the southern entrance of Kinchina Conservation Park, near Murray Bridge. It’s a peaceful location for family and friends to visit. Kinchina Conservation Park was established to protect precious remnants of native bushland that provide important and connected habitat for a number of declining woodland birds such as diamond firetail (Stagonopleura guttata), brown treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus), restless flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta) and hooded robin (Melanodryas cucullata). Other special features of the park include the Lavender Federation Trail, native wildflowers and several threatened plant species such as Monarto mintbush (Prostanthera eurybioides) and Menzel’s wattle (Acacia menzelii).

The walk at Kinchina Conservation Park showcases the species of trees planted each year through the Memory Tree Program at a largescale conservation project nearby on Frahn’s Farm at Monarto, including a range of mallee gums, sheoak and native pines. The plantings at Frahn’s Farm help to reconstruct woodland habitats to support the regions beautiful woodland birds and other native wildlife in a heavily cleared agricultural landscape.

Alfred James Funeral Homes and Trees For Life are especially proud of this program. It’s a great honour to be a source of comfort to so many South Australian families at such a challenging time and to offer hope through trees that will stand in our landscapes for many years to come.

Alfred James Funeral Directors offer the Memory Tree Program to all South Australian families accessing their services. Please direct all enquiries to Alfred James by phone on 08 8272 8555 or email at assistance@alfredjames.com.au. 

All our wisdom is stored in the trees.

BELOW: Danielle Calvaresi from Alfred James Funeral Directors with Natasha at our Westwood Nursery.

TOP:

Species planted in Memory Tree Walk are selected to provide excellent habitat value and are suitable to local conditions.

Acacia brachybotrya (grey mulga)

Acacia montana (mallee wattle)

Acacia pycnantha (golden wattle)

Allocasuarina verticillata (drooping sheoak)

Bursaria spinosa (Christmas bush)

Callitris gracilis (native pine)

Eucalyptus calycogona (squarefruited mallee)

Eucalyptus dumosa (white mallee)

Eucalyptus leptophylla (narrow-leaved mallee)

Eucalyptus odorata (peppermint box)

Eucalyptus oleosa (red mallee)

Eucalyptus phenax (green dumosa mallee)

Eucalyptus porosa (mallee box)

Pittosporum angustifolium (native apricot)

RIGHT: Peppermint box (Eucalyptus odorata) at the Memory Tree Walk.

Reflection bench overlooking the Memory Tree Walk at Kinchina Conservation Park.

BETTY WESTWOOD

“THE TREE LADY”

We’re thrilled to announce that in September 2022, Betty Westwood OAM — lovingly known as the “Tree Lady” — was posthumously inducted into the SA Environment Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 SA Environment Awards*. Betty was a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia for Conservation and a Civic Trust Award for her promotion of environmental concerns. Betty’s cousin, John Bradford, gives us an insight into how Betty became a ‘modern day warrior’ for the preservation of nature.

Betty's father and my grandfather came out to South Australia from Scotland after World War I and both took up land just outside the mainly Scottish settled rural town of Strathalbyn on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Both men married sisters from the local Taylor family and settled down to farming life. Betty's life as a child on the family farm “Hill Top” gave her an appreciation of the natural world and our connection to all living things especially the trees. She excelled at school, then chose a career in nursing, training at the RAH in Adelaide. After seeing service during World War II she spent some time at Geelong Grammar in Victoria, eventually moving back to Adelaide where she took up the position of Matron at St Peter’s College. Betty was dedicated to the wellbeing of “her boys”, passing on the life skills they would need as well as a love for the environment, she was the Owl Lady to them. Over the years the boys gave Betty an impressive collection of all things owl, from tea towels to carved ebony statues. These all ended up in Hoot Hall as it became known, the front room of the old butcher shop at the family home Dollar in Strathalbyn.

Over the years Betty had many, many visitors to Hoot Hall, a lot of these were school excursion groups both local and from the city. All who visited received detailed instruction on how to puddle a seedling into the soil to give it the best chance to grow. She was very proud of the survival rate of her plantings. In the back yard at Dollar she had her propagation benches with shade cloth covering over the younger seedlings and nearby was an old table set up as the tube filling centre. Her enthusiasm and vision was infectious, so we soon had our own propagation area at our home in Milang, with all the trees destined for the farm.

Her little blue Volkswagen beetle could often be seen along the local roadsides as she planted her trees. The schools around Strathalbyn also helped, with many planting days organised in local reserves. When my parents, Diana and Bill Bradford, moved to the farm after Dad's retirement. Mum used to look up the hill from the homestead towards Strathalbyn and say how wonderful it would be to see the bare skyline covered in trees and hoped she would live to see it. It took a few years of fencing, ripping and hard work. It was a tough spot to dig holes and to plant. Tree guards were needed on this very exposed hillside. Today it is a tree lined view up the hill and Mum lived to see it. Betty spent many weekends at our farm planting out the bird corridors and fenced off remnant vegetation areas. She was an inspiration to us, introducing us to Men of the Trees (Trees For Life as it is now).

Betty introduced so many people, young and old, to the wonders of the natural world. She was a dedicated and passionate woman who not only talked the talk but walked the walk, BIG TIME.

From Betty’s cousin, John Bradford. 

“I am very attached to this country. I am concerned about the land. And you turn around and see the very old, dead and dying trees, and if you look into the future all you can visualise is that there will be nothing here at all.

For me there’s concern. I’ve always had the feeling that I was part of the environment. Something drives me to do it. When I look at that big, old, ringbarked tree, dead and still standing, it’s what gives me incentive. It gives me strength. If I can grow a tree, then plant it so a bird will nest in it, that’s the ultimate happiness to me.

Something has to be done about the state of our land. We will never be able to bring it back, the way it used to be, but the least we can do is save and re-establish what we can.”

–Betty Westwood^ OAM 1917 — 2004

WHEN ALL THE TREES HAVE GONE

A poem by Betty Westwood

When all the trees have gone No joyous song will greet the light Or share its happiness all day No bird wings home at night When all the trees have gone When all the trees have gone No roots will hold the earth’s thin crust An age of weathered rock Blown out to sea as dust When all the trees have gone No harvest time will come No gentle grass that once forgave Our greed; the desert soon Will claim the land we failed to save Now all the trees have gone.

*SA Environment Awards are presented by Conservation Council SA in partnership with Green Adelaide and the Department for Environment and Water.

^Quote taken from ‘Listen to the People, Listen to the Land’, Jim Sinatra & Phin Murphy 1999 Melbourne University Press.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT TREES FOR LIFE?

OUR BOARD

At our Annual General Meeting on 13 October we welcomed a new Treasurer, Marina Deaville, and two new board members — Martin Breed and Jason Size.

Marina brings extensive experience in finance, risk management and strategy in both corporate and not for profit sectors. Martin is a dedicated university educator and scholar of restoration ecology, ecosystem health, and genomics at Flinders University.

Jason owns a small orchard in the Riverland, works in horticulture training, and is dedicated to conservation and land management in the regions.

Phil Donaldson was re-elected as Vice President and John Virtue as a Board Member.

Sincere thanks to our outgoing board members Janine Lynch (Treasurer), Andrew Dolley and Stuart Collard for their many years of dedicated service. You can read more about our Board on our website: treesforlife.org.au/people

Discover how your support helps us go beyond for our precious landscapes and wildlife in our 2021-2022 Impact Report: treesforlife.org.au/resources

GROWERS: WE’RE HERE TO HELP

The growing season is underway. You will have received your manuals, seed and soil and be preparing to tend your seedlings. We’re looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labour being planted out in winter to restore our precious landscapes across our state.

As many of our experienced growers will tell you, sometimes things don’t go to plan. From germination failure to insect attack or unforeseen illness or injury, plenty of things can happen to throw you off your growing groove. Help is at hand here in the office, where we’re available to offer advice and support. We can replace seed until 14 February 2023, in the event of

HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURES

Our office and nursery will be closed from 12pm Friday 23 December 2022. We’ll reopen 10am Tuesday 3 January 2023. Our Board, management team and staff wish all our members, supporters and volunteers a happy holiday season.

germination issues or failure, or talk you through solutions to any other problems you might face throughout the season. You will also receive your first growers’ newsletter with helpful tips and key points to refer to in December.

As a volunteer grower you’re an essential part of our mission to restore South Australian landscapes and we want to make sure you have all the support you need to make your growing season rewarding and enjoyable. Please contact us if you run into an issue — sooner is better than later when it comes to keeping your seedlings growing strong.

Kookaburra taken by Peter Watton

WHAT'S ON

Please note dates are correct at the time of printing and are subject to change. Please check the advertised date closer to the event by calling our office or checking for updates on our website and Facebook page.

Office and nursery closes 12pm Friday 23 December 2022

Office and nursery reopens 10am Tuesday 3 January 2023

TREE SCHEME AND NURSERY

Introduction to Seed Collection Workshop – Southern Adelaide Hills

2023

7 February

Volunteer grower seed replacement closes Mid-February

Volunteer grower back-up seedlings due at Westwood Nursery 23, 24, 25 March

Volunteer grower back-up seedlings available at Westwood Nursery 27, 28, 29 April

BUSH FOR LIFE EVENTS

BUSH ACTION TEAM DAYS SUMMER 2023

The location of our Bush For Life summer activities is decided each week according to the weather forecast. Register at BFL@treesforlife.org.au or call 08 8406 0500 during business hours.

Wednesday 1 February Saturday 4 March

Saturday 4 February Tuesday 7 March

Tuesday 7 February Thursday 9 March

Thursday 9 February Wednesday 15 March

Wednesday 15 February Saturday 18 March

Saturday 18 February Tuesday 21 March

Tuesday 21 February Thursday 23 March

Thursday 23 February Wednesday 29 March

Wednesday 1 March

SEED BANK: PERMITS AND SEED COLLECTION

Large-scale restoration projects like Tree Scheme, Paddock Tree Project and Direct Seeding, as well as our Westwood Nursery, all rely on native seed carefully collected by hand from across South Australia. Each year, volunteers join our Seed Bank staff on seed collection expeditions to gather the vital seed that will grow into habitat to provide homes for our wildlife, strengthen our soil, air and water, and bring sanctuaries of bushland for us to enjoy.

We’re granted an annual permit to collect the seed critical to carrying out habitat restoration. The permit is issued to our Seed Bank Manager, Daniel, who trains and supervises our volunteers to collect on our behalf. If you’d like to volunteer to help us collect vital seed, it’s essential that you contact us to register for our Introduction to Seed Collection and Advanced Seed Collection workshops in order to collect under this permit.

If you’re interested in volunteering with our Seed Bank please see the date for our Introduction to Seed Collection workshop under ‘What’s On’ for ‘Tree Scheme and Nursery 2023’ above.

Continue your story

THANKS TO

South Australian Government entities not shown above include the Department for Environment and Water.

5 May Terrace

Brooklyn Park SA 5032 08 8406 0500 info@treesforlife.org.au

treesforlife.org.au @treesforlifesa #treesforlifesa