Local schools have celebrated National Tree Day with GeoCatch by planting over 1000 trees across the Geographe Catchment. Students from five schools took the opportunity to connect with nature and learn more about remnant vegetation, habitat construction for wildlife, and how they can positively impact the environment around them.
Students from Capel Primary, Geographe Primary, Busselton Primary, Busselton Senior High School, and Bunbury Regional Community College were happy to get up close and personal with their natural environment. “We hope to improve habitat for the critically endangered western ringtail possum and to provide school students the opportunity to be part of the solution,” said Nicole Lincoln from GeoCatch.
Laurie Saltarini, Dealer Principal from Busselton Toyota, expressed his ongoing support for the program. “Busselton Toyota is proud to have been involved in Schools Tree Day for many years. It’s a great opportunity to teach children from a very young age how to care for and protect our natural environment.”
“Planting trees and shrubs is not only a fun, simple and effective way to help enrich our earth and protect wildlife, it’s also a way to bring our local community together and leave a legacy for years to come,” said Laurie.
There are many benefits to planting trees, on both a global and local scale. GeoCatch project officer, Nicole Lincoln, emphasized to students that their actions in planting native trees are helping the survival of the iconic local species.
“The biggest threat to western ringtail possums is habitat loss and fragmentation,” she said.
“The more trees we can plant now, the more habitat there will be for ringtails and other wildlife in the future. Through National Tree Day, these students are creating a legacy of conservation that we hope they will continue to value into adulthood.”
One of the planting sites was at Dolphin Rd boat Ramp foreshore in Busselton. This is the 4th consecutive year that GeoCatch has undertaken planting at this site, with this year’s planting designed to infill understory species and peppermint trees to provide a home for possums and ground cover protection so they can move safely between trees.
This event was made possible with funding from Busselton Toyota and was delivered by GeoCatch.
