National Tree Day Schoeffel Park

On Saturday 27 July 2024, Greater Sydney Landcare and Liverpool City Council partnered to host a Creating Canopies tree planting for National Tree Day.

Despite the rainy start to the morning, over 55 volunteers from the community and across Greater Sydney joined us at Schoeffel Park in Horningsea Park to help plant 2,000 native trees and shrubs.

Aunty Gail from Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council opened the day with an Acknowledgement of Country.

The volunteers helped install native trees and shrubs suited to this area, which includes critically endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland. The plants will grow to 3 metres and above to create a canopy layer. This will provide shade and cooling in the future and help to reduce urban heat.

The plants installed included Eucalypts (gum trees), Acacias (wattles), Melaleuca decora (White-feather Honeymyrtle), Allocasuarina littoralis (Black She-oak), Bursaria spinosa (Sweet Bursaria), Dodonaeas, Ozothamnus diosmifolius (Rice Flower), Indigofera australis (Australian Indigo), Hakea sericea (Needlebush), Kunzea ambigua (Tick Bush), and Trema tomentosa (Native Peach).

The morning’s showers cleared to sunshine and fluffy clouds by the early afternoon, as the volunteers got stuck into staking and guarding.

To celebrate National Tree Day, we organised a few extra goodies for this event. Attendees were singing along to the great music from a live band as they planted, staked and guarded the trees. They could also enjoy checking out free activities including:

• Facepainting
• A weaving workshop led by Indigenous artist Tarni Eastwood of Nula Weaving
• Grabbing a native shrub or two for home from our free native plant giveaway

• Building a bug hotel with Sophie Blair – Greater Sydney Landcare’s Local Landcare Coordinator for Young Adults
• Learning from the friendly and informative folks from Georges Riverkeeper (Rob Dixon & Kirsten Spry) about waterway health

• Chatting with the firies from the NSW Fire and Rescue Horningsea Park fire station and checking out their exciting fire truck
• Learning about recycling & grabbing a showbag from the lovely ladies from the Liverpool City Council Waste and Cleansing department, Karen Waixel – Waste Support Officer and Archana Maharjan – Acting Coordinator Circular Economy.

The free delicious sausage sizzle lunch prepared by Spit Roast King was also greatly appreciated by all. Xpresso Coffee and Dutch Baby Pancakes were also on site for some mouth-watering treats to keep energy levels high throughout the day.

Greater Sydney Landcare’s entire Creating Canopies team attended to ensure the day ran smoothly, including Creating Canopies Project Manager Danielle Packer, Natural Resources Manager Bryce Doyle, Bush Regenerator Supervisor Aimee Hancock, Bush Regenerator Rhiannon Beaton, Project Officer Alicia Harb-Akins, and Communications & Engagement Officer Melanie Wagner.

Liverpool City Council also brought a large contingent including Michelle Playford – Acting Environmental Restoration Plan Program Leader, Laura Parent – Environmental Restoration Plan Projects Officer, Kyran Coogan – Acting Coordinator Environmental Operations, Shadi Khaef – Bushcare Officer, Joel Daniels – Biosecurity Officer, and many others. It was a joint effort between the Environmental Operations, Environment Restoration Program and Parks + City Works departments. Thanks also to the Bush Regeneration and Parks team of Liverpool City Council in prepping the site.

Thank you to Liverpool City Council and all involved in making this planting happen. We hope you all had a fantastic National Tree Day!

Volunteer for Bushcare in Liverpool

If you’d like to contribute to environmental efforts in the Liverpool LGA, you can become a Bushcare volunteer and regenerate bushland. No experience is necessary as training is provided.

Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare

Find out more about Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare here. Be sure to download our Corporate Volunteering Info Pack.

Get Involved in Creating Canopies

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.