ACT’s Greening Australia Nursery one of nation's first Bushfire Recovery Nurseries
FNPW has announced ACT’s Greening Australia Nursery as one of the nation’s first Bushfire Recovery Nurseries.
In partnership with global non-profit, One Tree Planted and French beauty brand, L’OCCITANE, this is the first stage in FNPW’s mission to plant one million trees over the next five years in response to the horrendous 2019/20 bushfires.
The grant will extend the capacity of Greening Australia’s Canberra nursery by 40,000 trees, bringing its total capacity to 160,000 trees. This will be a major step in supporting the recovery of the South Coast to Gippsland Corridor, with funding also allocated towards upgrades to the irrigation system, nursery benches and trolleys, as well as essential supplies such as potting mix, trays and pots.
Mr. Graham Fifield, Operations Lead at Greening Australia said: “It’s a great privilege to be awarded a grant as part of FNPW’s mission to plant one million trees across Australia. Together with our passionate volunteers at Greening Australia, it’s our goal to play a major role in rehabilitating our fire-affected landscapes for the benefit of local wildlife and local communities.”
As part of its volunteer program, Greening Australia works with a broad cross section of the Canberra community to provide meaningful and tangible environmental outcomes through a hands-on experience. Currently, volunteers are working towards restoring habitats for threatened species including the Koala, Glossy Black Cockatoo, Scarlet Robin and Swift Parrot and planting native trees including Blackwood, Black She-oak, Myrtle tea-tree and Ribbon Gum.
Mr. Ian Darbyshire, Chief Executive Officer for the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife said: “Greening Australia will play a significant role in our mission to restore our national ecosystem. Tree planting is essential for the regeneration of our future and plays a vital role in restoring natural habitats, native vegetation and wildlife rehabilitation efforts across Australia.”
FNPW has awarded grant funding to three nursery locations to date including Greening Australia, ACT, Hawkesbury Community Nursery, NSW and Yankalilla Community Nursery, SA. Trees will be planted in national parks across Australia, as well as other public and private lands affected by bushfires.
Since 2015, FNPW has also worked on its initiative “Plant a Tree for Me’ in response to the progressively degrading environment. A donation of just $10 will plant and maintain one tree in the Bushfire Recovery project.