City of Greater Shepparton leads the world in planting largest number of trees for One Tree Per Child initiative

The City of Greater Shepparton has reached a global milestone, planting more than 100,000 plants and trees - the largest number of trees in the world - as part of the One Tree Per Child initiative.

The international initiative, co-founded by Olivia Newton-John, that aims to encourage children around the world to plant trees, has been enthusiastically taken up by the Victorian community, which initially set out to plant one indigenous plant for every child within the municipality aged under 18 each year - a target of 16,664.

However, with 100,000 plants and trees now in the ground across the region, City of Greater Shepparton Mayor, Kim O’Keeffe explained “one hundred thousand plants is a significant number, and it has been achieved through children’s participation collectively enhancing our region’s environment by planting native indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses.”

Since it was launched in 2016, trees have been planted at 104 sites, with 33 local primary and secondary schools involved.

Explaining that the initial target has increased in subsequent years, seeing a mix of local plants including eucalypts, buloke, wattles and smaller trees planted, Mayor O’Keeffe added “one Tree Per Child is such a wonderful program and to have the involvement from our children demonstrates the real value of protecting our flora and fauna, especially having declared a climate emergency in 2020.

“The state of our climate and environment affects every section of our community and the generations that follow.

“This program enables our children to be involved with the rehabilitation of our environment and then to return in time to see the results, which is such a beautiful connection.”

The planting of the Australian buloke tree is particularly significant, as it is listed as endangered under the Environment Protection Act.

Planting a tree is often a child’s first act of volunteering for the benefit of our entire community, with the initiative seen as a way to leave the municipality in better condition than what was inherited.

Mayor O'Keeffe said she now planned to write to mayors across the country, encouraging them to get involved in the initiative, concluding "I think we should be sharing successes, and it's not just for our region, it's for our state and our country.”

Click here for more information on the project.

Images courtesy of City of Greater Shepparton.