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Arbor Week in Victoria is an annual week of planting of native species of plants combined with environmental education activities. It has two aims, which are to increase environmental awareness in all school children and their local communities and to increase the amount of native vegetation in Victoria.
As our society is becoming more environmentally aware and our knowledge and understanding of environmental processes is increasing the aims of Arbor Week are also evolving. In previous years Arbor Week was focused mainly on tree planting. In order to protect stands of remnant vegetation, re-establish degraded ecosystems and habitats and increase biodiversity we have changed this focus to include all native vegetation. With this in mind the theme for Arbor Week this year is "Creating Habitats for all Living Things".
The Natural Resources Conservation League creates links between schools and environmental groups which have environmental revegetation projects in which schools can become involved. The great aspect of these projects is that the school children will see the environmental effects of their revegetation works over time (a great example is the increased bird life which occurs after plants have become established).
We CAN Make a Difference
On Monday the 8th of September at Sacred Heart Primary School Croydon, we joined the whole school to celebrate the revegetation of the school grounds. After 3 years of planning and developing a sustainable curriculum, the students and teachers enthusiastically planted the trees which were provided by NRCL as an Arbor Week Grant. The students have learnt to care for their landscapes and understand the importance of indigenous plants. With the help of parents and grandparents, each class planted out tube stock to start revegetation of a native bush section. The energetic teachers and principal have planned thoughtfully, and prepared the ground to beautify the environment for future generations. The plants will increase the biodiversity by supplying habitats for native birds, possums and lizards.
A frog-bog is being constructed, and plans for a mini farm are in a developing phase. A well established vegetable patch of three years is being utilized by the students, where they are learning about measurements, special concepts, problem solving and calculating money.
Throughout this school, the sustainability of water, energy and waste are being addressed. Water is collected from the taps and reused on the vegetable patch. The grade 5 and 6's are teaching the school to turn off lights and appliances and have already reduced the electricity bills. The art program has been reusing containers and material. Students have been reusing containers for their lunch, instead of using paper bags and plastic wraps. This ongoing project by a dedicated team is showing the community that everyone can be sustainable.
Did you know that in Victoria, 44 per cent of plants and 30 per cent of native animals are either extinct or threatened? (The Wilderness Society)
Your school can help to do some positive environmental restoration work for Victoria.
