On Saturday 29th July, Greater Sydney Landcare and volunteers planted 3,000 native trees and shrubs for National Tree Day, as part of its Creating Canopies project. This takes the total number of trees planted so far this year by Creating Canopies to 10,000!

This free tree planting event, held in Gough Park, Cecil Hills in honour of National Tree Day, was run by Greater Sydney Landcare in partnership with Liverpool City Council.

As well as tree planting, there were plenty of other free activities for participants including:

• Musical entertainment
• Face painting for children
• A plant giveaway
• Barbeque lunch
• First Nations weaving workshop

Ngiyampaa and Guringai artist Tarni Eastwood ran a weaving workshop on the day that volunteers took part in. Tarni aims to connect workshop participants with culture and community, by passing down her knowledge of traditional and contemporary Aboriginal weaving techniques. Participants worked with hand-dyed raffia from Tarni’s business Nula Weaving, which is based on Dharug Country in Western Sydney. Tarni actively facilitates weaving workshops with community to contribute to the ongoing revitalisation of traditional cultural practices.

Greater Sydney Landcare provided locally native plants, tools, and on-site training to participants on the day.

The Department of Planning and Environment’s Executive Director, Resilience and Urban Sustainability, Steve Hartley, said the 3,000 trees planted would help educate and inspire future generations in Liverpool and across Sydney.

“Growing our tree canopy across Western Sydney has great benefits for communities like Liverpool. These additional trees will provide cleaner air and help reduce surface temperatures,” Mr Hartley said.

This event is part of the Creating Canopies project. Ms Danielle Packer, Creating Canopies Project Manager for Greater Sydney Landcare said:

“The goal of Creating Canopies is to plant 200,000 native trees by the end of 2025. Creating Canopies is proudly funded by the NSW Government to help mitigate urban heat. Greater Sydney Landcare is running it in conjunction with Landcare NSW.”

“Creating Canopies is all about cooling Sydney down in the years to come,” said Ms Packer. “We’re focussing on planting trees that will grow to three metres and above, to provide lush green canopy for the birds, bugs and animals above and lots of cooling shade down below.”

“It’s also about providing a better experience of the great outdoors for all Sydneysiders,” Ms Packer said. “By making our outdoor areas shadier we can all stay outside longer, move about more, and get more fresh air than we could in unshaded areas. This is because planting trees helps to mitigate urban heat.”

Green spaces are also associated with increased physical activity, better physical health, lower stress levels, reduced air pollution, and greater community satisfaction.

Ms Packer said:

“Greater Sydney Landcare is proud to partner with Liverpool City Council in their environmental initiatives and to create canopies in Greater Sydney.

“Partners like Liverpool City Council are invaluable—they provide the spaces for greening. It’s also a great day for the Liverpool community to come out and make their local area an even nicer place to live,” Ms Packer said.

About the Creating Canopies project:

Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare are planting 200,000 trees to help mitigate urban heat in Greater Sydney. Proudly funded by the NSW Government.