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National Tree Day 2022 Events

 

 

National Tree Day is coming up on Sunday 31st July, and these two love birds are getting ready to celebrate.

 

That’s because one day, the tiny saplings that we plant together on the day will provide shelter, warmth, food and a place to call home for not only birds like this pair, but countless other Australian animals. And the best news? You can be part of creating this leafy legacy.

 

The challenge: To plant 1 million native trees

 

As Australia’s largest national community tree planting event, everyone is invited to join this momentous occasion and be part of the creation of homes for our wildlife ⎻ they’ll be thanking you for hundreds of years to come.

 

Which National Tree Day event is nearest to you?

 

Just click the link and follow the steps to register.

 

Hobart, Otago Bay Lagoon Reserve, 31st July 2022, 10 am – 2 pm

 

Andergrove Woodlands, Mackay, 31st July 2022, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

 

Toogoolawah, Somerset, QLD, 23rd July 2022, 9 am – 2 pm

 

Oxbow Wetlands, Brisbane, 27th July, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

 

Forrestdale Lake, Perth, 31st July, 9 am – 12 pm

 

Cashin Park, Tannum Sands, Gladstone, 31st July, 7:30 am

 

 

Trees are cool

Did you know that on a really hot day, it can be as much as 10℃ cooler under the canopy of a tree? That’s because trees act like evaporative coolers when they release water into the air. When we plant trees, we help to cool our homes and our neighbourhoods, making them better places to live.

 

 

Trees = resilience

With continuing development, our suburbs expand and become denser, and we continue to lose trees in our urban areas. And as our climate warms, this combination of fewer trees and more buildings is causing the areas we live in to get even hotter, with surface temperatures as high as 55 degrees in some cities. To offset this rise, urban design experts believe we need to increase our urban greenery by 30%, which has been shown to reduce temperatures by as much as 10 degrees. 

We want everyone in our communities to get involved, planting and caring for our trees as they grow and thinking about how their own backyard might be a shade contributor. 

 

Trees protect the vulnerable

It’s the very youngest, and oldest, members of our community that are most are risk from the elevated urban heat. By planting trees, we can help protect these vulnerable members of our community during heat wave events. 

 

Don’t sweat it (unless you’re a tree)

When we plant trees near water, they have plentiful access, which greatly enhances their evaporative cooling effects through increased evapotranspiration. We can capitalise on these cooling effects by planting in proximity to wetlands and other waterways, which also makes them ideal places to visit on a hot day. 

 

Read more about how you can mitigate the negative effects of climate change via our Urban Shade Forests project.

 

Some more cool facts about trees

• Trees are the longest living species on earth (the oldest is approx 5000 years old)
• Trees filter rainfall and improve water quality for us to drink
• There are over 60,000 known tree species
• Two mature trees provide oxygen for a family of 4
• Trees reduce air, water and noise pollution
• Trees communicate amongst themselves through a mycorrhizal fungi network underground
• Studies show that being surrounded by trees decreases blood pressure, slows heart rate and reduces stress
• Trees help prevent erosion and flooding
• Mature trees can increase the value of your property
• Areas that lots of trees are thought to have less crime than those without (Seeing Community for the Trees: The Links among Contact with Natural Environments, Community Cohesion, and Crime, 01 December 2015, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biv151)
• A tree’s rings don’t only reveal its age (Dendrochronology), they can also indicate incidents of natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions or droughts
• Patients with views of trees heal faster and spend less time in the hospital than those without
• Strategic planting of just four trees on your property can significantly reduce your energy bills – potentially by up to 50%
• Trees are super cool. A tree-shaded area can be around 4℃ cooler than an area without tree cover.

 

 

Can’t make any of these events? Don’t worry. We have plenty more. Check out our other events.

 

 

Special thanks to our partners, Chevron Australia, for sponsoring the Revive Our Wetlands National Tree Day events.