On Sunday 19th May 2024, Greater Sydney Landcare’s Creating Canopies project hosted a planting at Bungarribee Park in Arndell Park in the Blacktown Local Government Area.
42 people came on the day, braving the chilly morning weather, to help plant 835 native trees and shrubs.
A Day in the Sun
Under a bright blue sky, the volunteers planted just over a hundred Eucalypts, along with Bursaria spinosa, Rice Flower (Ozothamnus diosmifolius), Prickly-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca nodosa), White-feather Honeymyrtle (Melaleuca decora), Gossamer Wattle (Acacia floribunda), Coffee Bush (Breynia oblongifolia) and other native plants suited to this area.
Creating Canopies Project Manager Danielle Packer and Project Officer Alicia Harb-Akins ran the day.
42 volunteers joined Greater Sydney Landcare at Bungaribee Park to plant and guard 835 native trees and shrubs. 
42 volunteers joined Greater Sydney Landcare at Bungaribee Park to plant and guard 835 native trees and shrubs. 
42 volunteers joined Greater Sydney Landcare at Bungaribee Park to plant and guard 835 native trees and shrubs.
“All the trees were Cumberland Plain Woodland species,” said Ms Packer. “Less than 6% of the Cumberland Plain Woodland remains in Australia, so our work is important to protect this endangered plant community which a lot of native wildlife rely on and call home.”
To safeguard the young plants, the volunteers helped install wallaby guards around each tree to protect them from kangaroos and deer as they get established.
Celebrating Community Spirit
“The volunteers flew through the work and did a great job,” Ms Packer said.
Amongst our volunteers, we were joined by the Dawoodi Bohra community group (this was their second planting with Creating Canopies – read about their first here) and a group from Beak and Johnston.
Thank you to the Dawoodi Bohras for joining us once again to plant. We appreciate your support! Photo: Tasneem Baquari. 
Thank you to the Dawoodi Bohras for joining us once again to plant. We appreciate your support! Photo: Tasneem Baquari. 
Thank you to the Dawoodi Bohras for joining us once again to plant. We appreciate your support! Photo: Tasneem Baquari.
Tasneem Baquari of the Dawoodi Bohra group said, “Thanks for extending the opportunity to plant trees to the Dawoodi Bohra community. We had a great time and are very proud of what we achieved together. It is small steps like this that will help keep our planet cool and save the greenery for our future generations to come.”
“The families weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, even when the ground was a bit muddy and wet,” Ms Packer said. “Their efforts were greatly appreciated.”
Thank You Bungarribee Park
Bungarribee Park is part of Western Sydney Parklands, which is managed as part of the Greater Sydney Parklands estate. Thank you to Greater Sydney Parklands for volunteering Bungarribee Park for canopy trees and shrubs.
“The team at Greater Sydney Parkland’s have been running a Habitat Restoration Program for Western Sydney’s Adolescents in Bungarribee over the course of the past two years and were thrilled to get more community members engaged in planting trees and aiding in regenerating critical habitat on the site,” said Dani Fine, Education & Community Programs Officer at Greater Sydney Parklands.
Join Blacktown’s Bushcare Program
If you’d like to contribute to environmental efforts in the Blacktown area, you can volunteer to become a Blacktown City Council Bushcare volunteer, and regenerate bushland. No experience is necessary as training is provided.
Get Involved in Creating Canopies
Find out more about Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare here. Be sure to download our Corporate Volunteering Info Pack.
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.
