By Gabriella Vukman
On Sunday the students of Wandin Yallock Primary School swapped their school shoes for boots as they participated in a council-endorsed tree planting program.
After a week’s worth of planting and learning about land management, natural habitats, legacy and the environment, Wandin Yallock Primary school was calling for volunteers to help them plant over a thousand trees on Sunday 13 August at the Wandin Yallock Creek.
The restoration project, organised by the council, aimed to prevent erosion and restore habitat. The planting is took place from 10am until 1pm and everyone was welcome to join in the fun.
Jill Dowling or ‘Farmer Jill’ played a pivotal role in involving the students in sustainable practices and said that Landcare Week and tree planting provided the kids with “a really good sense of ownership and they get to care for the environment too.”
This planting day came off the back of the primary school’s ‘National Tree Day’ and ‘Landcare Week’, wherein the students took part in planting trees, weeding, and generating a natural habitat in their ‘Nature Play Forest’ for future students to come.
“They’re making a space for the animals and for future students at the school and they know they’ll be able to come back in years to come… and see the growth,” Farmer Jill said.
Richmond Football Club’s Katie Brennan also paid a visit to the school to meet the students and help out with some tree planting.
During this week the students managed to put all sixty of their allocated plants which included trees, shrubs and grasses, into the ground.
Upon being questioned about further regeneration and restorative work, Jill posits that “It can be really difficult to get the kids off site for an excursion” before going on to confirm that “If we could make it more accessible to actually go and do more community planting we would certainly be doing more.”
Sunday’s planting shenanigans stemmed from an invitation from Yarra Ranges Council for the Wandin Yallock School to take part in the process and Jill hoped this collaboration would mark “the beginning of a hopefully continued partnership.”
