Greater Sydney Landcare volunteers planted over 400 native trees on the grounds of Campbelltown Hospital, on Saturday 3 June to celebrate World Environment Day.

This planting is part of the Creating Canopies project which will see 200,000 trees planted by the end of 2025 as part of the Greening our City program to help reduce urban heat in Greater Sydney. This program is proudly funded by the NSW Government.

Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare are holding a number of tree planting days to help cool down Sydney and create valuable habitat for birds and other wildlife.

This event also included a free talk about Campbelltown’s koalas and how you can help them, by getting involved in Greater Sydney Landcare’s Southwest Sydney Koala Project based in Campbelltown.

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day focuses on solutions to plastic pollution.

Matt Keighery, Greater Sydney Landcare’s Landholder Engagement Manager said they have been looking at alternative solutions regarding the use of plastic tree guards:

“We had been using plastic tree guards which can be recycled, but we found that they presented a liability for us. We had to not only decommission them but also get them to a recycler. We have moved to 100% cardboard guards. These provide a durable guard that completely degrades over a 12 – 18 month period.”

More than 2,000 plants will be spread across the hospital campus to encourage growth and enhance the ecosystem landscape.

Chair of Greater Sydney Landcare, Bev Debrincat, says Greater Sydney Landcare and Landcare NSW are proud to partner with South Western Sydney Local Health District and Campbelltown Hospital to help green their space and improve their local environment.

“Landcare works to improve the health of our environment and communities. These new trees will help create healthy environments for the local community, hospital staff and patients and improve habitat for wildlife.

“Green spaces aren’t just great for wildlife, they’re also associated with better physical health, lower stress levels, and greater community satisfaction,” said Bev.

Campbelltown Hospital is one of four hospitals that Greater Sydney Landcare and Landcare NSW are working with to green hospital grounds as part of the Creating Canopies Project.

Click here for further information about Greater Sydney Landcare’s Creating Canopies project.