Rugged up in windbreakers, gumboots and gardening gloves on Sunday morning, rosy cheeked Canberrans young and old get down and dirty on Urambi Hills Reserve for National Tree Day.
Adults dig neat holes in the wet soil so children can carefully place cypress pines, tea trees and red wattle seedlings in them, tenderly patting down dirt to keep the sprouts steady.
It isn't long until the landscape is covered with baby shrubs and trees, marked and protected by orange guards.
The shoots are but a fraction of the 26 million plants environmental group Planet Ark said have been sown in the last 25 years on August 1.
Along with Urambi, Jerrabomberra Creek and Kaleen Primary School were given funding by the group to purchase seedlings.
Urambi Hills Park Carer group volunteer Louise Curham said she they choose native plants, with a focus on shrubs to help support small birdlife.
"Because small birds can't fly very far, we need to make corridors of shrubs for them to be able to move across the landscape," she said.
"[We have] what the environment guys called keystone trees, and they're sort of like the cathedrals in the landscape. And they support heaps of birdlife, but they don't help the little birds.
"Our philosophy goes if you've got healthy small birds that means you've got lots of insects. You've got enough food for the insects, so then you've got enough food for the birds. And if you've got enough shelter for the birds they'll prosper. And then slowly they start spreading things because they eat stuff and then they poo. So [the park] starts to look after itself."
Ms Curham said it was the perfect time of year for plantings, because of the wet and cold weather.
"While it's still wet conditions, we really need to get trees in the ground," she said.
"The theory goes, if they make it through the first two years, they'll probably make it. And for the most part, that's what we see happen."
Most of the volunteers were not regulars, which Ms Curham hopes will encourage more people to get involved.
"We all really enjoy environment volunteering and we'd like to share the love with everyone else in Canberra," she said.
Environmental volunteering in the ACT:
- Monday:
- Mount Majura, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Mount Majura, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Mount Majura, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Mount Majura, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Tuesday:
- Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Wednesday:
- Mulligans Flat, 9.30am - 12pm
- Mulligans Flat, 9.30am - 12pm
- Mulligans Flat, 9.30am - 12pm
- Saturday:
- Black Mountain, 9 - 11am
- Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Black Mountain, 9 - 11am
- Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Black Mountain, 9 - 11am
- Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve, 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Sunday
- Cooleman Ridge ParkCare, 8.30 - 11am
- Aranda Bushland and Aranda Snow Gums Nature Reserve, 8.30 - 11am
- Cooleman Ridge ParkCare, 8.30 - 11am
- Aranda Bushland and Aranda Snow Gums Nature Reserve, 8.30 - 11am
- Cooleman Ridge ParkCare, 8.30 - 11am
- Aranda Bushland and Aranda Snow Gums Nature Reserve, 8.30 - 11am
