A Katoomba-based environmental organisation is proving you can make a difference on a global scale.
The environmental education campaign “One Tree Per Child”, encouraging every child under 10 to plant at least one tree as part of their school education, has surpassed a new target.
In Bristol, England, school kids have helped to plant 39,000 trees, which exceeds the organisation’s target of 36,000 trees.
And in parts of America, trees are being planted using cuttings from old growth trees.
“We want to teach kids not just about planting trees and why that’s important … it’s also about the role they play and why they exist,” said One Tree Per Child co-founder Jon Dee.
The project is now in seven countries, and Mr Dee is encouraging Blue Mountains schools to get on board.
“If schools here in the Blue Mountains get involved with the project they can set a positive example around the world like Bristol did,” he said.
“Especially after the [2013] fires, we want to put more trees back in.”
In December St Canice’s Catholic Primary School students planted 40 trees in The Gully with celebrity gardening guru Costa Georgiadis.
TV personalities Kevin McCloud and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have also thrown their support behind the campaign.
The initiative was launched by founders Jon Dee and Olivia Newton-John in Sydney last year. The government is funding the first 100,000 trees in Australia.
For more information on the project, check out this short video featuring Costa Georgiadis: www.onetreeperchild.com/costa
