National Tree Day

Media release – Planet Ark, 14 June 2022

SCHOOLS TREE DAY AND NATIONAL TREE DAY

Established in 1996, National Tree Day has grown into Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature care event. The program is a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to their community.

Each year, around 300,000 people volunteer their time to engage in environmental activities that educate Australians about the world around them. Since 1996, over 26 million trees have been planted around the country by over 5 million volunteers.

This year, Planet Ark is asking Australians to connect with nature and their community on National Tree Day as the campaign seeks to plant a million native trees, shrubs and grasses in support of Australia’s environment and communities.

Key information on this year’s campaign is outlined below:

Dates:

• Schools Tree Day – July 29, 2022
• National Tree Day – July 31, 2022

Key activities:

• Tree planting and nature care events hosted by schools, councils and community groups around the country.
• Educational resources for schools including activity sheets, lesson plans and the National Tree Day Schools Competition.
• The Seedling Bank program, which provides financial support to National Tree Day volunteers for planting activities. Funding has been provided to 90 schools and community groups to date, resulting in 38,000 seedlings planted.
• New research providing information on the benefits of trees for the environment and people’s health and wellbeing.

 How schools, councils, community groups and members of the public can get involved:

• Find and volunteer at a National Tree Day planting site in your area – https://treeday.planetark.org/find-a-site/.
• Become a National Tree Day coordinator and host a site of your own at home, work, school or in the community – https://treeday.planetark.org/toolkit/#how-to.
• Donate to The Seedling Bank to support community-led environmental projects across Australia – https://treeday.planetark.org/donate/.
• Check out the range of online resources to support planting events, including how to guides, posters, certificates, web graphics and relevant paperwork – https://treeday.planetark.org/toolkit/.
• Find out more about the National Tree Day program – https://treeday.planetark.org/.