By Mikayla van Loon
What started as a reaction to the devastation of the 2021 storms has turned into a sustainable education venture, allowing people to heal and learn about regenerative practices.
Three years later, the expansion of Treasuring Our Trees (TOT) continues with big plans on the horizon for its founder David Ferrier.
But reflection, commemoration and celebration of what the community endured was not forgotten at the anniversary of the storm and TOT Lilydale open day on 8 June.
“The event on Saturday was a catch up community day. A chance to share the story, talking about what we’ve achieved so far in the last 12 months, especially because it’s the third anniversary since the big event,” Mr Ferrier said.
“I’ve never forgotten the stories and the characters and the families and people still to this day, who were struggling before the storm happened. People who have mental health issues, financial issues, disabilities, the elderly.
“We made some beautiful relationships, and I spoke about them at the end of my little talk on Saturday up on the stage and how we feel a crazy responsibility and obligation to represent all those beautiful people and our whole community.”
It’s that responsibility Mr Ferrier has carried with him recently to Canberra to meet and speak with Australia’s politicians, to tell the story of the Yarra Ranges during the storm and the outcomes that have occurred since.
“There’s lots of wonderful community groups around Australia that get together and support the community after these events but what we did differently was we took it to another level by essentially building partnerships with local, state and federal government to salvage materials and then transform them into what we now call educational tools.
“So by building kitchen gardens, indoor furniture, graduation pens, everything we do, children learn about sustainability, about caring for the environment, about our program, how to care for the community and so it’s really evolved over the last two or three years.”
Having completed around 13 school projects across the Yarra Ranges, working with the Department of Transport in Montrose to salvage majority of the trees set for removal at the new intersection and delivering workshops in the educational hub in Lilydale, TOT only intends to grow.
From discussions with Traditional Owners in Cape York to working with some of Victoria’s biggest build projects, Mr Ferrier said the idea of rejuvenating areas with salvaged trees is catching on.
“My vision in the beginning was to replicate our program around Australia,” Mr Ferrier said.
The impact of TOT has not only reached interstate but Mr Ferrier said he has been invited to join an international conference in New Zealand next year.
“Sometimes I stop and I get shivers thinking about the social impact we’re making,” he said.
“Through our program and then with our collaborations with others through the community projects, you think about the tens of thousands of people we are reaching.
“In the schools alone, it’s tens of thousands of students, then you’ve got parents and you’ve got the teachers, the staff, the families and the wider community around the schools.”
Eventually the goal is to establish a training centre to expand that educational purpose even further for not only schools but teachers, professionals and community groups.
It’s with that vision in mind too that Mr Ferrier said TOT is on the path to becoming a social enterprise.
“We always wanted to set it up so we could show people what we do because we’ve learned over three years the power of improving the mental health and well being of the community through our work.
“And we thought, ‘hey, how cool would it be if we can actually get people on the tools if they want to learn’.
“We’re not quite there yet but that’s where it’s heading.”
