Planting 100,000 trees returns identity to Shepparton

By Gianni Francis

May 30, 2022

Growth: Landscape architect Costa Georgiadis says members of the next generation are laying their roots in the region, which will be deeper than those of the trees that they planted. Photo by Megan Fisher

Students got their hands dirty planting indigenous shrubs in a new vegetation corridor at Tassicker Reserve on Kittles Rd, Shepparton, to celebrate the planting of more than 100,000 trees and plants across the region.

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Landscape architect Costa Georgiadis said the kids from more than 30 primary and secondary schools in Greater Shepparton had handed a gift down to the next generation; laying roots in the region that will be deeper than those of the trees that they planted.

Getting stuck in: Eli Thomas, 6, digging a hole to plant his tree. Photo by Megan Fisher

Yorta Yorta and Djadjawurrung man Damien Saunders said that by planting these native plants, the children of Greater Shepparton had given the land back its identity.

“We’ve utilised trees since day one, for our hunting, our canoes, our boomerangs, medicine and even utilised them for birthing,” he said.

Important links: Damien Saunders conducted a Welcome to Country and talked about the importance of native trees to the identity of the region. Photo by Megan Fisher

“I still go to my great-grandmother's tree where she was born — I still know that one, I still go there, I still feel it. I still sit there.

“Trees are everything to us. They give back spirit, back to the earth.

“It's a magnet here and invites people to come back ... you're returning people home.

“This is so important, not just for Indigenous people, but for everyone for generations to come.

“One plant can change Country, it gives identity back.”

Greater Shepparton is leading the world in the number of trees planted for the One Tree Per Child program, and Mayor Kim O’Keeffe said the goal now was to plant another 100,000 trees across Greater Shepparton during the next four years.