On Saturday 7th September 2024, which also happened to be the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, Greater Sydney Landcare fittingly hosted a Creating Canopies community planting. The location was a private property in Wilberforce, where the landowner lives and runs an equestrian business, in the Hawkesbury LGA.
Clear blue skies shone down on the 14 volunteers who helped to plant 1,187 native trees and shrubs and 80 native grasses.
The group planted planted gum trees (eucalypts and corymbias), wattles (acacias), honey myrtle (melaleucas), sheoaks (allocasuarinas), bottlebrushes (callistemons), hop bushes (dodonaeas), as well as other native flowering plants suited to this area.
Creating Canopies Project Officer Alicia Harb-Akins and Bush Regenerator Rhiannon Beaton led the day. They praised the volunteers on a tremendous job, particularly as temperatures rose throughout day.
Frequent water breaks provided a welcome opportunity for the landholders, Greater Sydney Landcare staff and volunteers to enjoy some chats and a catered lunch of delicious sandwiches before returning to the task.β―Β
Attendee Amy Wong said: “Myself and Daania had a fantastic time with everyone on Saturday, and it was lovely to get to know everyone!”
The planting areas were strategically placed near the open animal pens, which currently lack shade. Over time, the new trees will create cooler spots for Debbie’s animals, while also offering shade for guests using the equestrian arena.β―β―
Debbie’s main goals for the planting were to create shaded areas and establish a connective corridor for native bees to forage through her property to the bushland at the back.
A swarm of European honeybees was spotted bearding on a nearby tree to the planting area. In spring, beehives naturally divide as part of the reproductive process, with a swarm leaving to search for a new home.
Fittingly, the dayβs activities also included a hands-on pollinator workshop led by PlantingSeeds. They taught volunteers about different native bee species and led a workshop on creating homes for native Blue Banded Bees.
As Blue Banded Bees prefer clay-rich soils, the volunteers mixed one part clay into seven parts of bricky sand. They added water to achieve a firm consistency and then packed it into open-ended containers. As the group was planting they had plenty of empty tubestock containers to fill, but you could also use PVC pipes, Bessa bricks or old terracotta pipes. Before the mixture set, volunteers pushed 8 mm wide sticks in about 10-15 cm deep. The pots were placed at ground level throughout the planting. Once dried, these habitats will be ideal for Blue Banded Bees, which live in solitary burrows rather than hives.
As Aussie Bee explains: βEach female [Blue Banded] bee mates and then lives in a solitary nest by herselfβ¦in a shallow burrow in clay soil or sometimes mudbricks. Many Blue Banded Bees may build their nest burrows in the same spot, close to one another, like neighbouring houses in a village.β
PlantingSeeds recommends providing space for at least 10-20 bees when building your own Blue Banded Bee habitats to support a small community. Discover more tips for supporting pollinators on the PlantingSeeds website.
A special thank you goes to Debbie (or should we say DebBee!) the landowner for volunteering her land for this planting, which will increase habitat and canopy cover in the years to come.
Volunteer for Bushcare in the Hawkesbury
If youβd like to contribute to environmental efforts in the Hawkesbury LGA, you can become a Bushcare volunteer and regenerate bushland. No experience is necessary as training is provided.
Get Involved in Creating Canopies
If youβd 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 Landcareβs Eventbrite page.
Find out more about Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare here. Be sure to download our Corporate Volunteering Info Pack.
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.
