ReLeaf Spring 2011

Trees For LifeSpring 2011Number 120

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2 Trees For Life Spring 2011 Number 120 3Trees For Life Spring 2011 Number 120

Contact usReLeaf is a production of Trees For Life. Editorial/Advertising: Tania Kearney (ph: 8406 0500 or [email protected]) Production/Graphic Design: Fusion Printing: Finsbury Green

Want to advertise? Advertising space is now available in ReLeaf. Phone 8406 0500 or email [email protected] for advertising rates.

Cover photo: White Goodenia, Goodenia albiflora, by Jenna Currie.

Trees For Life 5 May Tce

Brooklyn Park 5032 Ph: 8406 0500 Fax: 8406 0599

[email protected] www.treesforlife.org.au

The times they are a-changing - as must we

Back in 2000 when I wrote my first President’s Message it was handwritten and then transcribed, ReLeaf was still in tabloid

newspaper format and mobile phones were still something of a curiosity. How times have changed and the way we do things altered in all aspects of our lives over the past decade. If we then consider the thirty-year lifespan of Trees For Life, the changes have been of mind blowing proportions. Mind you back in the 60s Bob Dylan had predicted “the times they are a-changing”.

During this anniversary year we have received letters, e-mails and phone calls recounting members’ experiences back to the visionary days of the 1980s.

Through early meetings in homes with no paid staff but with the inspiration of Richard St Barbe Baker and a lot of energy, enthusiasm and commitment, our founders developed a serious vision for our natural environment: “the revegetation of South Australia and the protection of its remnant vegetation”.

Despite, or maybe because of, all the changes that have taken place in the world around us, that objective and our commitment to it remain as strong as ever. We are a passionate organisation of believers in the ability of the community to influence the world around them.

But what of the next 30 years? Can we hope that governments of all persuasions might match their rhetoric with some tangible actions that impact positively on the natural environment? Regrettably I’m not unduly optimistic on that score.

Accordingly and perhaps regardless, there will always be a place for organisations such as ours to ensure genuine community engagement and stewardship of our natural resources.

For us to continue successfully in this role, however, we must stay relevant and aware of the changes taking place around us. Our core values haven’t changed since 1981 but how we go about our business certainly has and will necessarily continue to do so. We need increasingly to ensure that we are equipped to handle the future, embrace new technologies as appropriate and strengthen our support base. It’s important that our programs are driven by our values.

Elsewhere in this ReLeaf edition I have renominated for the position as President. If successful it will be my last term. Apart from the personal ravages of time, I believe that we need to start thinking about a level of generational change and progression; the board is already discussing how best this can be achieved.

We have a relatively young and especially diverse board which I believe provides a sound basis for tackling the challenges of the coming decades. Great care will be taken not to ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’ but we need to ensure that the beacon lit back in the early 80s continues to burn brightly.

We know that we’ll never fulfil our ambitious organisational aim but it won’t be for the lack of trying.

According to my grandkids I should be using some sort of i-thing to transmit this message but my trusty PC will have to suffice. Oh, and before logging off, I’ll just pay a visit to the TFL pages on Facebook and check the latest happenings.

By DAVID MITCHELL

Dr Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889-1982)

After World War II, a lecture tour into Austria, Germany

and other countries launched Dr Richard St. Barbe Baker’s concept of an international green front to promote the idea of reforestation worldwide.

Chapters of this ‘green front’, known as Men of the Trees (now the International Tree Foundation in the UK), were founded internationally.

Probably his largest single challenge was the concept of gradually reclaiming the Sahara Desert through the strategic planting of trees. This idea took shape after a 25,000-mile expedition around the desert (through 24 countries), which he undertook with a team in 1952-3.

Ultimately, there were chapters in over 100 countries including ours here in South Australia. Men of the Trees organisations still exist in WA, NSW and Queensland.

By some estimates, organisations St. Barbe Baker founded or assisted have been responsible for planting at least 26 trillion trees internationally.

TFL powered by the sun

Last year our sponsor Green Switch installed 12 solar

panels on the roof at May Tce. We have been tracking our energy savings since, and are pleased to show you the latest figures and our overall total to date (see graph below).

TFL Solar panel performance

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

Oct 10 - Jan11

Jan - March11

Aor - July11

Total todate

kWh

$ credits

Birthday message from our CEO

A red gum can live and thrive for hundreds of years, playing a

pivotal role as part of its particular ecosystem.

During the first 30 years of its life it grows, changes and evolves until its final shape starts to emerge and consolidate.

So it is with an organisation like Trees For Life. While we have hundreds of years of useful work ahead of us, this 30th anniversary edition of ReLeaf reveals our essential shape and form.

The stories told by some of our members not only illustrate their environmental achievements but also hold the key to what is particularly unique and special about Trees For Life and its members.

They reveal a deep personal commitment and satisfaction in playing a part in the restoration of the environment.

While each achievement is relatively small in terms of the big picture, each is inexorably contributing to the solution we all believe we can achieve – a rich, diverse and resilient natural environment for now and for the future.

I would like to pay tribute to our wonderful members and thank you for your contribution to the environment. Whether you have been with us for 30 years or have just joined, your participation is deeply appreciated.

I would also like to extend an invitation to you. I would like to see as many members as possible at our 30th Birthday event.

There will be lots to see and do and it will be interesting and fun.

You will be surprised and delighted at how many people you know there but if you feel too shy about coming along alone, well please feel free to bring some friends. All are welcome.

CARMEL

A free 30th Birthday event you cannot miss!

Sunday September 25 is the big day to celebrate Trees

For Life members’ 30 years of achievement.

Being held from 12-4.30pm at the Lockleys Primary School oval on May Tce Brooklyn Park, the event will be part picnic, part fair with lots to see and do for members of all ages. If the weather is really bad the event will be held in the school gym across the road.

What to bringBring a picnic rug, chairs

and table and a picnic lunch for yourself and your friends and family.

Bring a photo to share if you like, showing just what you’ve achieved on your property or BFL site over the years or some great seedlings you’ve grown.

If you wish, bring along something to contribute to our country style trading table which will be raising funds to help cover the costs of the day. (see more details below).

FoodWe encourage you to bring

a picnic lunch, but we will be selling coffee, wine and cheese, beer, soft drinks and delicious snacks for afternoon tea.

There will also be a sausage barbecue for those who don’t want to bring a picnic hamper and a Spider Stall for the young or nostalgic.

FormalitiesA cake cutting ceremony

will follow an address from the President (Mitchell, not Obama) and we will be acknowledging two new categories of members to mark the occasion.

Those of the first 1000 TFL members still active will be honoured as Foundation Members and those who have held continuous membership for 20 years or more will be

honoured as Gold Members. We will also be presenting the Thank You Tree Awards which are usually announced at our Christmas party. (This event takes the place of the Christmas Party this year)

DisplaysAs well as information and

displays from TFL and partner organisations, we will have a photo board for you to add a before and after photo of your special conservation or revegetation project.

Make sure they are copies with your name and site details attached as we’d like to keep them for our archives.

We will also have books and TFL merchandise for sale on the day including a new TFL lapel pin.

Our 2012 calendar will be launched on the day and be available for purchase.

Lyn Bartlett will launch her book Lyn’s Journal – a Selection of Illustrations from Field Journals Kept by a lady of the Adelaide Hills as well (see full story Page 19).

ActivitiesThe day’s program will

include some old fashioned games and races for those with the energy to participate, a kids’ corner and play area and some large scale environmental board games.

For those who haven’t seen it yet, we will open the Betty Westwood Nursery to visitors.

You will also have a chance to meet TFL Board members and share your ideas, comments or just have an informal chat with them.

Local band The Botherers will provide music and entertainment supported by DJ Henri.

Trading tableWe would be grateful

for contributions to our Trading table.

Items can include cakes or biscuits suitable to sell for afternoon tea or bar cakes, produce and home grown goodies for people to purchase to take home.

Want to help?This is your party so we

don’t expect you to do the work … but if you really want to volunteer to help out on the day for a bit or on the Friday before or Monday after please let us know. We will be grateful for any help.

Other ways people can help if they wish is to donate items for a raffle to be drawn on the day.

These need to be dropped in to the office by Wednesday, September 21.

ParkingOn-street parking will

be available, as well as some limited parking in the nursery yard and Lockleys Primary School grounds.

So come along and celebrate - we look forward to seeing you all there!

President’s Message General News


Our trees to make a difference at Tonsley

Trees For Life is partnering with the Tafe SA Adelaide

South Institute in an environmental revegetation program at the Tonsley Park Redevelopment in South Adelaide.

In the first of its kind, the State Government, through the Department of Trade and Economic Development, will transform the 61ha site, located within the City of Marion, into an important sustainable industries employment hub.

In accordance with its Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan, Tafe, which will be one of the key tenants at the site, aims to reduce its carbon footprint while actively contributing to future local environmental programs and increasing local biodiversity.

As part of the program, Tafe has secured access to a section of ‘wild space’ along the railway line corridor, which will contain a walking and cycling trail, and requires revegetation. An additional site has also been earmarked adjacent the Tafe campus and car park at the southern end of the site.

It is anticipated 100 participants representing the Tafe SA Adelaide South Institute, including council members, staff, students and representatives of the Sustainability Action Group, will be recruited by Tafe and trained by TFL to grow 100 seedlings each for the site.

TFL will coordinate aspects of the environmental program for Tafe, such as species selection, seed and materials provision, on-site workshops, remote ‘grower’ back up, seedling care and thinning information and the coordination of on-site planting logistics.

The program, which starts later this month, will culminate with a community planting day at the Tonsley site, with 10,000 seedlings being planted during winter 2012.

Blakes Crossing to feature TFL natives

‘10 for the Garden, 10 for the Bush’, a joint initiative of Trees

For Life and developer Delfin Lend Lease, has been officially launched.

Under the initiative, households in Adelaide’s Blakes Crossing community receive a gift voucher to choose 10 native plants from a selection of garden-friendly and local small trees, flowering shrubs, ground covers and ornamental grasses.

As part of the ‘welcome gift’ for new residents, Trees For Life provides a planting guide with tips for designing a beautiful sustainable garden, and some professional support and advice.

And to add to environmental sustainability efforts, a further 10 native seedlings will be planted on cleared land on the householders’ behalf.

Adelaide Convention Centre staff after holding a planting day at one of TFL’s client’s properties in Yankalilla.

New Blakes Crossing residents receive their 10 for the Garden, 10 for the Bush selection pack from TFL Business Development Manager Karen Tamm, left, and Blakes Crossing Project Director Troy Jamieson. Below is a plant selection pamphlet given to all new residents.

ACC staff help the environment

Adelaide Convention Centre management and staff once

again backed up their corporate social responsibility ideals by holding a planting day in June.

The group travelled to a property near Yankalilla, “Yakka Tracks’, which is owned by a Trees For Life Carbon client.

The property, situated on the banks of the Carrickalinga Creek, was initially direct seeded in 2009 and supplemented by

“The project combines community engagement and the support of statewide environmentally sustainable initiatives, of which both entities can be proud,” TFL Chief Executive Officer Carmel Dundon said.

Lend Lease Project Director Troy Jamieson said Lend Lease and the Blakes Crossing team were excited to be the first to adopt the 10 for the Garden, 10 for the Bush initiative.

“In terms of the big picture, the program will create a lasting legacy supporting Lend Lease’s sustainability principles and community aspirations, and on a personal level, the entire team here can’t wait to get involved with the program, getting our hands dirty and helping out with the planting days wherever we can,” Troy said.

“This is also about Lend Lease supporting Trees For Life and the community to make a difference to the environment – by starting in our own back yards.”

An image of what is envisaged for the Tonsley site in years to come.

Greenest Class competition gets great support

Trees For Life is excited to be a partner in ‘Adelaide’s

Greenest Class’ promotion, which is being run through Messenger newspapers.

The promotion is a three way partnership between TFL, Messenger Community News and the Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges Board’s Natural Resources Management Education program.

Launched in the week leading up to National Tree Day, it has incorporated three components:• a Greenest Class Competition

in which schools or classes submit summaries of their environmental plans and initiatives;

• completing the on-line carbon calculator on the TFL website to determine their personal impact on the

environment and discover ways to make positive change to reduce this, and

• taking part in our ‘I Helped Grow a Tree Today’ TFL fundraiser. For every $2 raised, TFL will grow a tree on the students’ behalf. For every $100 raised by a school, TFL will reward them with a biodiversity pack of 10 local native plants.During the promotion,

Messenger is also running news stories highlighting the activities undertaken by Adelaide schools to help the environment. The project has been strongly supported and endorsed by SA Education Minister Jay Weatherill.

The five Greenest Class competition winners will be announced in the Messenger this week. Each will receive a worm farm (plus a box of worms) from Worm Organics, a corrugated raised garden bed from Compass Tanks and enough compost from SA Composters to fill the new garden beds.

TFL will feature some of Adelaide’s greenest classes on our website in coming weeks and in the next edition of ReLeaf.

And don’t forget that you can log on to our website any time to use the great kids carbon calculator, loaned to us by ‘Cool the Planet’ in England.

Financial year ends well

Members will be pleased to hear that Trees For Life

posted a modest $9352 surplus this year and achieved a 9% growth in income.

The aim of the TFL Board is to continue to diversify sources of income for the organisation so that it is not unduly dependent on any single source.

This year income was derived from Fees and Partnerships (38.3%), Grants (26%), Fundraising (15.3%), Memberships (7.2%), Sponsorship (5.6%), Projects (4.3%) and other Sundry Receipts (3.3%).

For a full financial report, members are invited to attend the AGM or download the annual report from our website after October 20.

tubestock the following year.On the corporate planting

day the ACC group planted around 700 seedlings of mixed species in the western end of the property, working its way along the southern side.

Once all the revegetation work on Yakka Tracks has been completed, it will substantially buffer the remnant vegetation along the creek and link neighbouring property remnants.

It was the third consecutive year ACC management and staff have participated in a planting day. A great effort!

From our files …

Excerpt from interviews with Dr Richard St Barbe Baker in

1981:Question: The Men of the

Trees which you are forming in Adelaide, what do you expect of them? Are they people out there planting trees?

Answer: Yes they are. They are planting trees for their lives and membership in Men of the Trees, which is a very reasonable subscription, is like taking out an insurance policy. I would like to see the businessmen of Adelaide investing in fellowships, and memberships, in Men of the Trees as part of their business because it is up to everyone to try and restore tree cover which has been felled.

General News General News


and Business enhancing their surrounds, a Port Pirie Uniting Care Wesley program which will involve those affected by homelessness and domestic violence and a ‘whole town’ approach in Crystal Brook which will involve local schoolchildren and Girl Guides.

The announcement has also been welcomed by project partner, ElectraNet.

As the developer of South Australia’s high-voltage transmission network, ElectraNet has a commitment to reduce community and environmental impacts wherever possible.

ElectraNet CEO Ian Stirling said apart from its own revegetation works around transmission assets, ElectraNet was proud to support the Trees For Towns project.

“The South Australian community response to Trees For Towns has been outstanding and ElectraNet representatives are looking forward to assisting Trees For Life with arrangements

30 SA towns, 30,000 new trees

We are thrilled to announce the 30 South Australian

towns selected to take part in our inaugural Trees For Towns project.

The project, a 30th birthday gift to South Australia from TFL and funded by ElectraNet, will see these diverse communities each supported to grow and plant one thousand local native trees or shrubs in and around their towns.

In all 30,000 local native trees and shrubs will be grown and planted.

Not only will this enhance the appearance of each town but the project will build community spirit and pride through participation.

The 30 communities had to formally apply to take part in the ambitious 18-month project, with all submissions extremely thorough, well thought out and a credit to their regions.

Far and wideCommunities from the

Far North to the South East, from the West Coast to the Fleurieu have committed to the exciting project.

They’ve identified patches of land that could do with some beautification or a biodiversity boost, organised their growing and planting teams, talked to their local councils and are ready to begin the process in October-November.

Participating communities include Robe, Port Broughton, Parndana (Kangaroo Island), Roxby Downs, Crystal Brook, Nairne, Milang, Port Pirie, Normanville, Naracoorte, Murray Bridge, Peterborough, Curramulka, Lochaber, Berri and Andamooka.

Worthy projectsThey range from a group of

landholders banding together to screen a proposed wastewater system in Robe, members of the Lochaber Women in Agriculture

for community propagation and planting over the next 14 months.”

1000 seedlingsEach of the 30 communities

is now forming working groups to grow 1000 native seedlings indigenous to their region and will then be guided through the process of selecting, propagating, planting and caring for local provenance species.

The communities will participate in propagation workshops and will be able to learn more about the value of revegetation and biodiversity while simultaneously enhancing the local environment and contributing to the spirit of community in their town.

The Trees For Towns project will culminate mid next year with planting events and community celebrations.

Thanks to funding from ElectraNet, the Trees For Towns project is underway. ElectraNet CEO Ian Stirling and TFL CEO Carmel Dundon discuss the environmental project while visiting our Betty Westwood nursery.

Successful community projects

The diversity and scope of the projects selected for Trees

For Towns is inspirational.Up north, the Roxby Downs

Environmental Forum will focus their plantings on the town entry, walkways through the town and the dune edges that border the town.

The remote communities of Andamooka, Maree and Copley will participate through the Outback Communities Authority and Progress Associations, beautifying parks, town squares and public areas in each of the towns.

In the mid North, Uniting Care Wesley Port Pirie Homelessness Support will create a special planting in recognition of the contribution the homeless can make to the community.

In neighbouring Napperby, the Port Pirie District Development Board will plant around the School and local parks.

Nearby in Peterborough a newly formed Trees For Towns Community Group will beautify the north-western entrance into the township along the rail corridor and infill areas in the local park.

The local park will also be planted in Crystal Brook as will the northern entrance to the town by the Crystal Brook Greening Group.

The Wallaroo Community Development Association will develop a green buffer to the north of the town.

The Greening Kapunda Group will plant each of its four main entrances to the town and the Curramulka community will plant its five entrances.

In Tanunda the Pamper the Para Group will help replace feral species with local natives.

Friends of Pt Broughton will enhance a Coastal Conservation Zone and further develop their coastal demonstration garden.

Revitalising entranceOver in the west, the

Lions Club of Whyalla will help revitalise the main

entrance to Whyalla along the Lincoln Highway.

Participating communities in metropolitan Adelaide include Parkside Primary School which will create a woodland in the school grounds and Minda Incorporated at Brighton, which will plant across its 28 ha site with individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families and carers participating in the project.

In the Hills, the Nairne Green Thumbs will continue to protect biodiversity in Nairne by adding valuable infill plantings to 10 local parks and reserves and in Mt Barker plants will be placed in and around the Laratinga Wetland.

River communities are well represented with projects planned in Renmark, Paringa, Lyrup, Berri, Loxton, Murray Bridge and Milang. Lutheran Community Care – Murraylands want to create inviting, accessible and interesting open spaces around the proposed permanent wetland and the Planet Ark Volunteers will plant the eastern entrance into Murray Bridge.

The Lions Club of Berri will plant into sections of their scenic wetland walk and replace previous plantings that have been damaged by recent flooding. In Loxton the plantings will revitalise the Loxton Community Conservation and Heritage Park and a ‘Common’ will be planted in Milang.

Several community groups have banded together for plantings in Renmark, Paringa and Lyrup along walking and bike trails and around wetlands and floodplains.

Dune plantingsDown on the Fleurieu

the Normanville Natural Resources Centre will plant along the Bungala River and the Normanville dunes that link to the coastal estuary, while the Special Education Unit, Victor Harbor High School will help revegetate the Inman River Billabong.

In the South East, the Grant District Council has secured the support of Bedford Industries

and Orana Incorporated to support plantings in the small towns of Yahl, Donovans, Tarpeena, Kongorong, Pt MacDonnell, Blackfellows Caves, Carpenter Rocks and Nene Valley. In Robe a group of six landholders are going to plant along the boundary of their properties to screen an industrial development site.

Native gardenThe Naracoorte Lucindale

Council will plant on a wide strip of land at the northern entrance of town to improve its aesthetic appeal and develop a native garden, and the Women in Agriculture and Business will plant around the Lochaber Hall and school bus stop.

Over on Kangaroo Island, the Parndana Progress Association will be planting an area members have helped clear of feral plants, replacing exotic trees at the local school and enhancing plantings within the oval reserve.

The impact of these community projects on biodiversity across South Australia will be significant and the community benefit will be felt for years to come.

We congratulate and thank the successful applicants and with this project we say Happy Birthday TFL - this is our special gift to the State in our 30th year. Thank you to ElectraNet for sharing our vision with this project.

Trees for Towns


Funding on offerThe Million Trees Program

is once again offering funding opportunities to schools and other agencies to implement projects in 2012.

Up to $1000 funding is available to schools and kindergartens to assist in the establishment of bush gardens and outdoor classrooms. Technical support and educational resources are also available to help link garden projects to the curriculum.

Up to $10,000 funding is available to State Government agencies, local government, community groups and non-government organisations that are considering indigenous revegetation projects within the urban and peri-urban areas of Metropolitan Adelaide. Be quick, applications close soon.

For more information or to get a copy of the funding guidelines please visit www.milliontrees.sa.gov.au or contact 8278 0600.

Thanks to TFLThe UBU team was also lucky

enough to secure the services of five of the DENR seasonal fire crew for the entire winter planting schedule. This team has become a specialist in preparing sites and also planting different species throughout the planting sites across Adelaide.

Since starting the program in 2003, Trees For Life volunteers have grown more than 360,000 of our two million habitat plants.

We sincerely thank you all for helping us to grow a greener future for Adelaide.

Look at what a difference our Willunga branch has made ...

In 1987 a few Trees For Life members living down south

decided to set up a ‘tree’ group in the Willunga district.

From small beginnings the group has flourished. It is now in its 24th year of activity in support of revegetation and bush regeneration in the area.

Founding members Kate Parkin, Faye Lush and Joyce West are still with the group, while many others have contributed a great deal over the years.

One of the group’s first revegetation efforts was to grow and plant hundreds of local species along the Linear Park between Willunga and McLaren Vale (now the Coast to Vines Trail). This work is still continuing, currently along a section of the trail nearer to Willunga between the high and primary schools.

One of the group’s most successful projects, the Willunga Wirra, was officially unveiled on October 20, 1996.

Willunga Wirra (a ‘wirra’ is an Aboriginal name for bushland. The name Willunga means place of green trees) is a planting of local native trees and understorey on a reserve in Kell Street, Willunga. Seed was collected locally and the plants grown by the Willunga TFL branch.

The adjacent photographs show just what an amazing impact the group has had throughout the Willunga region.

We congratulate the Willunga group and thank them for their contribution to TFL.

Linear Park 1988 at the first planting of the Coast to Vines Trail. Linear Park 2011.

Linear Park, Willunga township 2007. The same area in 2011.

Side bed at the Wirra, 1996. Side bed at the Wirra, 2011.

Wirra opening, 1996.

Wirra dry creek, 1999. Wirra dry creek 2011.

The Wirra in 2011.

Willunga by-pass road 2011.Roadside planting 1997 Willunga by-pass road.

200,000+ seedlings planted at 17 sites!

As winter comes to an end, so does the SA Urban Forests’

(UBU) planting events.All events were highly

successful, highlighted by the 16,000 native grasses that were planted at Para Woodlands, just near Gawler, in June.

The stats this year included over 200,000 local indigenous plants planted in 17 sites from northern to southern Adelaide, including West Beach and the Adelaide Parklands.

More than 400 students also participated in the Million Trees schools planting days and approximately 300 volunteers braved the damp and cold conditions to help us achieve our targets for this year.

Volunteers came from different backgrounds such as ‘Friends of’ groups, teachers and students as well as families and individuals who were keen to come out and help conserve the metropolitan biodiversity of Adelaide.

The Craigburn Farm volunteers definitely ended up being the wettest this year, so hats off to them for their support on such a bleak day. Urban Forests also acknowledges the support and team efforts of The ETSA Utilities Employee Foundation and Holden’s Little Para Restoration Group for their tree planting work at Para Woodlands and the Edinburgh to Bolivar Biodiversity Corridor respectively.

Growing a great future is the goal of the State Government’s SA Urban Forests Million Trees Program, which is dedicated to planting three million local native trees and associated understorey across metropolitan Adelaide by 2014.

Orders now open for TFL’s spectacular 2012 Calendar

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted photographs for our special 2012 calendar. After a slow start, we were

inundated with photographs – more than 500 in fact!Our broad theme trees for life resulted in some

spectacular images being sent to us, focusing on native South Australian trees and bushes and local native creatures that use the vegetation for food, shelter and habitat.

As well as receiving entries from past contributors, we also had many who were submitting their photos for the first time. It again proves just how talented our membership is and we really appreciate all those who took the time and effort to send their entries in.

It is always very difficult to choose the final 13 but we hope you will agree that our 2012 calendar is again exceptionally beautiful and a great representation of how amazing South Australia’s native flora and fauna is.

Our 2012 calendar will be launched as a special edition at our 30th Birthday event on September 25.

The calendars will be available for sale on the day, but can also be ordered through the insert accompanying this ReLeaf.

The following are just two of the exquisite images you’ll find in our new calendar. Enjoy!

All invited to TFL AGM in October

Members are warmly invited to come to the Trees For

Life Annual General Meeting which will take place at the TFL office in Brooklyn Park on Thursday, October 20, from 6pm.

Nominations for the following Board positions are now open: President, Secretary, Treasurer and Ordinary member. Nominations close at 5pm on Tuesday, September 20, after which time profiles of all nominees will be posted on the TFL website. Current financial members are eligible to nominate for a position on the Board and to vote.

If you are unable to attend the AGM you can nominate another financial member as your proxy to vote on your behalf. Appointment of a proxy must be in writing and on the official TFL form. The proxy forms will be available on line or from the office seven days before the AGM. The member and their proxy must be registered with TFL not less than 48 hours before the meeting.

A member may act as a proxy for a maximum of three other financial members.

Everyone is invited to attend the AGM which gives people a good chance to meet Board members, staff and other members for a friendly and informative evening. Drinks and light refreshments are served.

Those wanting to attend are asked to RSVP to the office on 8406 0500.

Misty tree-lined entranceway. Photo by Leanne Osmond.

Crescent Honeyeater on Xanthorrhoea semiplana flower stalk. Photo by Peter Watton.


Dear Trees For Life,We collected our seedlings last weekend from

our grower, Tony Bass, and were delighted to meet such a dedicated and passionate person.

Tony has raised and grown a healthy batch of seedlings that show evidence of his diligence and skill in raising local native plants. I have attached photos of our lovely babies.

Even more wonderful is that Tony only lives about 8 kilometres from us and so can easily visit to see how his lovely babies are growing. We have arranged to keep in touch with Tony via email and also invited him to come and see our property so we can show him how dedicated we are to returning the indigenous species to their rightful home.

We would like to send our sincere thanks to all those at Trees For Life, the volunteer growers and of course most especially recognise Tony.

Without the support network Trees For Life has in place we would not be able to achieve our goals for our property and we would not have met Tony, a passionate grower and a wonderfully dedicated volunteer.

We are looking forward to developing our relationship with Tony and have already asked if he would consider growing for us this coming year!

Many thanks to you all. Kind regards,

JULIA & BRUCE FIELD Mount Barker Springs

Grower’s diligence and skill praised by landholders

Propagation workshops start

If you are a new grower, or if you have grown before and

would like to improve the quality of your seedlings, Trees For Life encourages you to attend one of our free propagation workshops.

Propagation Workshops 2011Weekday sessions:October 14, 21 and 28 (Fridays) 10am-12noonNovember 1 and 8 (Tuesdays) 10am-12noonEvening sessions:October 12, 19 and 26 (Wednesdays) 5.30-7.30pmNovember 1 and 8 (Tuesdays) 5.30-7.30pmWeekend sessions:September 24, October 1, 15, 29 and November 5 (Saturdays) 9.30-11.30amSeptember 24, October 1, 15, 29 and November 5 (Saturdays) 12.30-2.30pm

We will introduce you to the basic steps of propagation the TFL way and demonstrate correct tube filling, transplanting and other essentials. All workshops will be held at our Betty Westwood nursery in Brooklyn Park and will run for approximately two hours.

If you are interested in attending, please phone 8406 0500 to book. We will send you confirmation and details of location approximately one week before the workshop.

Landholders who are growing their own seedlings are also welcome to attend the workshops.

Thanks for your great feedback

Thanks to all those who returned our 2011 Tree

Scheme Landholder Survey by June 30.

We had some very important feedback and lovely comments, which help us each year plan and improve the Tree Scheme program.

Some comments included: “Keep up the good work.

We are trying to get better at looking after the trees each year. We now cyclone fence, rip, put tree guards on and put on dripping over the first summer and are getting great results.” - Smiths, of Kingscote.

“Planted 3 times over 15 years – approximately 2000 seedlings. Planted a lot of acacia 10 years ago and now adding eucalypts. Blackwood and swampgum are both regenerating. Great organisation. Great system. Great people.” - P. O’Connor, of Maylands.

“I’m very happy with my dealings with Trees For Life and also the excellent results of my young trees so far. I would recommend TFL to anyone who is interested in revegetating their land.” - B. Giles, of Quorn.

“We are very lucky to have an organisation like Trees For Life to support revegetation efforts by landholders.” - Wilson-Maxwell, of Kingscote.

“We are very thankful to get so many trees for a price we can afford.” - B. Riddle, of Mount Torrens.

“As the planting has increased, so has the overall aims-aspirations. It is unbelievably rewarding. Birds that have appeared in particular. Overall habitat has improved. Now have resident kangaroos and apricot trees are protected from harsh weather.” - Rolfes, of Barmera.

“TFL has helped us to make a massive improvement to our property.” - G. Reimann, of Nailsworth.

“A fantastic organisation of can-do people.” - J. Nieuwenduk, of Hallett Cove.

“Cannot praise the Trees For Life organisation enough as without them and volunteer growers what we have achieved on this property so far would have been impossible to do without everyone’s help.” - K. Kirkland, of Balaklava

Congratulations to Peter Dickason, of Mt Barker, who won a carton of wine as part of our competition.

Become a TFL grower - it’s fun and rewarding

Now that the Tree Scheme ordering season has closed,

we’re on the lookout for volunteers to grow native seedlings this summer.

Volunteers grow seedlings for South Australian landholders who want to revegetate their rural properties, or grow for special environmental projects.

Being part of the program is easy. Trees For Life provides all the propagation materials – seed varieties, tubes, boxes, soil and mulch - free to volunteers, along with easy-to-follow instructions.

Trees For Life also runs propagation workshops (see adjacent) and employs a volunteer grower coordinator to help its volunteer growers.

People of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to be part of the Tree Scheme program. Volunteers don’t need to have a green thumb; the basic requirements are a sunny backyard and a commitment to looking after their seedlings during the summer months.

It’s a perfect way for people to do something positive to help SA’s environment and is very rewarding for those taking part.

If you’re interested in becoming volunteer grower this season, phone us on 8406 0500.

Students go Totally Wild and plant their seedlings

Students from William Light R-12, one of the schools

involved in the 2011 Schools Big Backyard Project, planted their seedlings as part of National Schools Tree Day on July 29.

The students spent an afternoon in the school grounds planting about 300 native seedlings that they grew from seed during the year.

After planting their seedlings, they fitted each with a tree guard to ensure they will be protected while they’re still small and vulnerable. The tree guards will be left in place for the next 6-12 months or until the seedlings have outgrown the guards.

Although this completes their growing project with Trees For Life, there will be some minimal longer-term care needed until the seedlings are well established such as keeping the area weed-free and monthly watering over the first summer.

This project, funded by Bendigo Bank’s West Beach and Districts Community Bank Branch and Minter Ellison, has given the students an opportunity to participate and learn about the natural growing cycle of native plants and to be involved in a project that will have real biodiversity benefits for the school and the local community.

In the previous month, William Light students also were filmed for a television segment on Totally Wild, which aimed to highlight the importance of TFL’s environmental project in schools.

Another school participating in TFL’s 2011 Schools Big Backyard Project, Flinders Park Primary, planted their seedlings late last month.

The real planting took place on National Schools Tree Day on July 29.

William Light students do a mock planting for the Totally Wild film crew.

Channel 10’s Totally Wild program filmed the TFL Schools Big Backyard Project at William Light school recently. Volunteer Grower Coordinator Martina Thompson discusses the finer details with the film crew. The episode will air later this year.

Tree Scheme Tree Scheme


Australian Research and Development Institute, Pauline remains an active volunteer for Trees For Life and says it’s her way of doing something for the community.

“I joined Trees For Life from a conservationist point of view and to mainly help grow trees for my friends and for other people in general,” she said.

Even though most of Pauline’s hard work can be seen in the Hills, she has also dedicated her time to the drylands near the Goyder line, where the rainfall is substantially lower.

She says the relationship between growers and landholders varies from time to time, and in some cases the workload can be overwhelming.

“Some people are very keen and I work pretty hard at putting trees back on their farms. Some people get overwhelmed at the amount of work that has to be done, but the majority are just lovely,” she said.

And as the growing season rolls around again, Pauline is growing six more boxes. Her latest batch of seedlings – approximately 300 - will not only add to the already impressive tally, but may one day provide someone or something with much-needed shade or shelter.

10,000+ seedlings and more to go

For many organisations, long-term volunteers are a

rare breed. Their experience and knowledge is worth bottling – and the difference they make to an organisation is often worth more than money can buy. TFL is priveleged to have so many long-termers.

Staying dedicated to a particular cause may not be easy for some, but many Trees For Life’s volunteers say it is well worth staying around to see the results.

Just by driving around the Adelaide Hills region, volunteer Pauline Glocke is able to pin-point exactly what vegetation she nurtured years ago. The plants are now mature and make up an important part of the bushland in the beautiful Hills region.

It has been almost 19 years since the Kersbrook resident joined Trees For Life as a volunteer grower. In the years since, she has seen her ‘babies’ become fully grown mature trees – a fact she holds as a big accomplishment.

Now in 2011, and having grown more than 10,000 seedlings in her commitment to the organisation, Pauline still finds it difficult to believe she has achieved so much.

The staggering figure, however, is a clear indication of all the work Pauline has done in South Australia.

“It is very satisfying when I see how mature and big the trees I started have become over the years. Seeing them and realising that I’ve helped in the process of putting those native trees back on the land, it’s very satisfying indeed.

“I can drive around my district and see mature trees and bushes on properties used in windbreaks, screenings, erosion control, wildlife corridors that I helped by growing,” she said.

At age 50 and a full-time employee at The South

Volunteer grower Pauline Glocke.

Stables revegetation a community effort

The Stables Christian Centre was established in Noarlunga

in 1993, aimed at helping local lower socio-economic families.

What they didn’t know when they bought the 37 acres of land in Huntfield Heights was that years later, Pastors Sonny and Lynne Hoet would also help transform the local landscape through revegetation works.

Lynne said the land had been used for a riding school for many years, so the paddocks were in a poor condition and covered with noxious weeds.

A creek line on the property featured some magnificent old River Red Gums – amongst scatterings of box thorns and olives.

Sonny and Lynne joined Trees For Life soon after and started growing their own seedlings.

“We had about 60 young people in our church and youth group at the time and when planting out time came, they enthusiastically joined in the fun,” Lynne said.

“I often meet people who remember these early times with fondness and are proud of the tall trees that now grace the property.”

ImprovisationLynne said early on in the

process, the centre also didn’t have any money to spend on ‘extras’ such as tree guards, so used car tyres instead.

“These were effective in protecting the trees but there were real problems if we didn’t remove them soon enough as the trees grew. Local kids also used to delight in removing them to roll them down the hill.”

Over the years, the seedlings have been grown and planted out by various groups of people - church members, a women’s group, Junior Youth kids, Correctional Service workers, WorkForDole participants,

Centrelink Volunteers and Learn to Earn TAFE students.

Lynne admits they have suffered plenty of losses due to some avoidable and not-so-avoidable issues.

“Planting the wrong trees such as bottle brush on the hillside where there was not enough water retention, the mower man not being a tree lover, sheep breaking through fences, those who watered not being in tune with those who planted and therefore missing areas of planting, drought and searing heat, vandalism (the most disappointing of all), native apricots looking like small olive trees and black boys looking like weeds so removed by over-enthusiastic volunteers. (We have stopped even trying to grow these),” she said.

Worth itDespite this however,

Lynne said now when they sit on the hill and look over the property, they forget about cold and wind, tired backs and disappointments.

“We think of the friendships, the conversations as we filled tubes or planted, the hundreds of volunteers and Trees For Life.

“Planting trees really does something for the soul and gives you reason to celebrate for years to come.”

And as for the future, they admit they still have lots of projects ahead of them.

“Windbreaks, understorey, the creek line, denser plantings on the boundary fences come to mind,” Lynne said.

Let’s hope the community spirit continues for years to come!

The Stables Christian Centre as it looks today and inset, overlooking the property when the Hoets bought it in 1993.

The current view down Brodie Road and inset, that same view in 1992.

A healthy creek environment runs through the property now and, inset, looking upstream of the creekline (in the centre of the photo) in 1992.

Expression of interestfor Bushcarer Position

Casual bush regeneration position becoming available, working

primarily on Fleurieu Peninsula sites. Suitable candidate must have

experience in sensitive weed control, have good plant ID skills and live in

the southern region. Must be fit and not afraid

of blackberry thickets!

If you have a good attitude, strong ethics and interest in

conservation then please contact:

[email protected]

PO Box 871 Williamstown SA 5351

Berri Primary School and Glossop High School students in the Riverland planted TFL seedlings for National Schools Tree Day on July 29. The planting is an annual event organised by the Berri Lions Club and Big River Toyota. Lions member Steve Rodley helps a Glossop student out on the day.

At the schools tree day are Berri Lions members, from left, Bruce Casey, Peter Johnson, Viola Rodley, Neil Francis and Allan Dand. As well as planting TFL seedlings along a walking trail in Berri for several years, the club is this year also participating in our Trees For Towns project.

* Southern Emu-wren image courtesy Conservation Council of SA


planted by approximately 400 students and adults. Species planted this year included Cullen australasicum (Tall Scurf-pea) recorded as rare in the Southern Mount Lofty Ranges. These plants were kindly donated by the dedicated and knowledgeable group of volunteers at TFL Willunga.

The FutureFrom humble beginnings,

through the commitment by Tatachilla Lutheran College Council and the vision of one person, Barry Peek, the EcoClassroom has had an impact on many lives. Thousands of people have either supported the growth of or have visited the site and through this

found in the McLaren Vale area is ongoing. Many reptile species call the EcoClassroom home and migratory bird life is dramatically increasing.

A ‘Friend of the EcoClassroom’ group was formed in mid 2000. Participants from the school and wider community were invited to be involved with all aspects of maintaining the area especially through regular working bees and fauna monitoring nights which are always interesting.

Visitors are involved in trapping and checking the wellbeing of the bettongs and potoroos.

Through this they learn about the importance of Australian flora as habitat. Recent years

Tatachilla’s EcoClassroom has an amazing impactBy DOLORES AMOS

The Past

In 1997 the vision to create an Outdoor Learning Facility

became a reality with a 2.4 hectare site at Tatachilla Lutheran College being designated as a dynamic environmental project. After discussions with local community and professional advice from environmental landscape designers the site was to be modelled on pre-European ecosystems that would have once existed in the area.

Given the name ‘EcoClassroom’, this facility was essentially created to develop in students and others a sense of the importance of nature and natural processes, promote an attitude of enjoyment and at the same time, a caring and responsible approach towards the environment.

The first step was the direct seeding of a mixture of indigenous plants in a one hectare section with another section seeded with native grasses.

Since then students in conjunction with the local and wider community have propagated and planted seedlings through Trees For Life and engaged in planting on an annual basis. Material supply and technical support from Trees For Life, in particular the Willunga branch, have been integral to the development of the EcoClassroom.

Seven ecosystemsBy 2001, walking trails

were established and seven distinct ecosystems identified then mapped. Brush-tailed Bettongs, Long-nosed Potoroos and Tammar Wallabies were introduced soon after. Introduction of other native species once

have also seen local and wider schools, community groups, government and non government agencies visit, day or evening, covering topics ranging from plant communities, threatened and introduced species, human impact, maintaining revegetated areas to just enjoying a walk amongst this vegetated area.

Kaurna Tappa, an Indigenous Interpretive Trail was developed with the assistance of the Kaurna community in 2007 when plants grew to a more practical stage of growth.

The PresentThe growth of the

EcoClassroom is extraordinary. Native plants are now

regenerating naturally, many species of insects have moved in and birds are nesting. 2011 has seen the Willunga branch of Trees For Life hold their monthly meetings in the EcoSkills Centre; a recently built, passive design building located amongst the vegetation. Guest speakers present to an interested audience in a warm environment surrounded by nocturnal native animals foraging for food.

Once again seeds supplied by Trees For Life were propagated by students and local community last year and seedlings were planted during Planet Ark’s National Tree Day for Schools. Over the week around 500 seedlings were

involvement have learned about the importance of indigenous flora. The valuable relationship with Trees For Life and local community will continue with future plantings focussing on middle and understorey species that will expand the diversity and establish important habitat for native fauna.

We congratulate Trees For Life for their achievement and the impact they have not only made to our landscape but for their contributions to the community as a whole. Education across generations plays a fundamental role on our world in so many ways and volunteers are at the heart of this success.

Students get hands-on for National Schools Tree Day.

Tatachilla student, Lucy, with one of the Brush-tailed Bettongs on the property.

Students watch a SARDI representative during a native fish release into the wetlands area.

The site starts taking shape in 2002.

Terry Reardon presents a talk on Bats SA to a group of TFL members.

The same site in 2011 is hardly recognisable.

The 2.4 hectare site as it stood in 1999.


Grey box grassy woodlands: an endangered communityBy LEANNE LAWRENCE Bush For Life Field Officer

Much of the Adelaide plains and western escarpment of

The Mt Lofty Ranges originally supported healthy box grassy woodlands - the most predominant being grey box grassy woodlands.

Typically, grey box woodlands are open woodland habitats dominated by Eucalyptus microcarpa tree canopy with an open shrub and small tree layer supporting a high diversity of grassy and herbaceous species including a number of threatened plants.

Grey box communities also support many native animal and bird species, a number of which are listed as rare or endangered.

Native birds particularly are reliant on intact habitat as they occupy niches in all of the structural components of grey box woodland. Canopy insectivores, species utilising the scattered shrub layer for feeding and nesting, ground dwellers that forage in the tussocks and leaf litter and species that rely on tree hollows for nesting, also contribute to tree health.

Dependant faunaThe list of fauna also reliant

on grey box woodlands includes bats, lizards and snakes and small mammals such as possums and echidnas.

The large area of the landscape supporting original grey box woodlands allowed for safe travel between regions for all species that lived within the community. This ensured high recruitment and genetic diversity amongst species to allow them to continue to thrive and prosper.

However, due to the rapid expansion of our communities into the natural environment we have changed the original

infrastructure of the woodlands for those inhabitants who called it home before us.

Many native species no longer have the necessary habitat requirements needed for them to survive and as such we have witnessed massive change in landscape structure and species loss.

The largest areas of existing grey box grassy woodland extend across central and western New South Wales and into northern Victoria. South Australian populations are confined to fragmented patches across the western escarpment and plains of the Mt Lofty Ranges, the eastern slopes of the Southern Flinders Ranges to and south to the upper south-east.

To protect the remaining grey box grassy woodlands, all communities have now been listed under the Federal Government Environment Protection Biodiversity & Conservation Act (EPBC). This is a significant step towards recognising the importance of these native communities and acknowledging the need for management and conservation.

TFL supportTrees For Life supports the

conservation and management of grey box grassy woodlands through the Bush For Life program, with bushcare volunteers working on more than 20 grey box Bush For Life sites in a number of council areas across Adelaide.

If you would like to contribute to the care of a grey box woodland and don’t want to travel far, the chances are that there is one near you.

Contact Trees For Life to find out if there is an endangered community in your neighbourhood and you could help, with a few hours of bushcare each month, to make a difference to the health of an important patch of native bushland.

A beautiful example of grey box woodlands, this one situated in Onkaparinga.

Targeting bush invaders

A new Bush For Life site has recently been established on

a private property at Banksia Park.

Owned by the North Eastern Sports & Shooting Club Inc (NESSCI), the scenic 16 hectare property is adjacent to Anstey Hill Recreation Park, on Range Rd North.

As well as several shooting ranges, clubroom facilities and historical sites, the property features 8ha of lovely remnant woodland ranging from long-leaved Box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx) over yaccas and golden wattle, to the more grassy blue gum (E. leucoxylon ssp leucoxylon) /sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) and manna gum (E. viminalis) associations.

The bush is in quite good condition but needs a bit of help to overcome a few weed issues. The club has also been revegetating a cleared area of the property with the aim of providing habitat for the local Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo population.

NESSCI has had some success gaining small grants to engage contractors to work on the suite of woody weeds present (Blackberry, Gorse, Boneseed), and BFL will help bring these weeds under control.

We will be kicking things off with a Bush Action Team day in November so check your Group Activity schedules for details. The club has also generously offered the use of its clubrooms during BAT days, so expect a few creature comforts if you come along - and make sure the red flag isn’t flying!

Celebrate our 30th birthday

Bushcare’s Major Day Out11th September, 2-4pm

Yantaringa Reserve, Hahndorf

Come along and see what the long term carers of Yantaringa have been up to, learn about bush regeneration,

find out more about our bush regeneration workshops.

Join us for afternoon tea and a guided walk.

Meet on Fairview Road, look for the signsDownload the map on www.treesforlife.org.au

More information call Emma on 8406 0542

Bushcare’s Major Day Out is a national day to promote the regeneration of bushland through engagement and awareness of the local community in an enjoyable and social way with events across Qld, NSW, Vic and SA.

www.bushcaresmajordayout.org

Yantaringa saved by hard work and TLCBy ANGELA CULLEN Bush For Life Field Officer

Yantaringa has gone through a lot of changes in recent

times, but now thanks to the care and support of dedicated Bush For Life volunteers, it is making a wonderful resurgence.

Yantaringa Reserve comprises 8.4 hectares of mixed Eucalyptus obliqua (messmate stringybark)/ E. leucoxylon (blue gum) open forest on the lower slopes, and mixed E. obliqua/ E. baxteri (brown stringybark/ E. fasciculosa (pink gum) on the higher slopes.

The vegetation associations reflect the topography, aspect and soil types, and their quality reflects the varied land-use history. Some areas have been severely modified, while others have diverse understorey and several species of regional conservation significance. The indigenous vegetation here belongs to the Hahndorf Vegetation association, of which less than 1% remains.

Following the early settlement of Hahndorf, the name Yantaringa was given to the entire property of Mr Hunt (the landlord of the German Arms Hotel). Yantaringa is believed to be an aboriginal word meaning lookout.

The top of the hill was originally a stone reserve, with the NE and central areas quarried until the 1930s. The old quarry sites were subsequently filled with excavated materials from the construction of the SE freeway in 1974-75. In 1950 Hahndorf Primary School students planted Pinus radiata in the SW section to celebrate Arbor Day, and the central section was used as a rubbish dump until 1964.

Sadly, the entire reserve was burnt in Ash Wednesday in 1983. However, the prolific regeneration of indigenous

plants following the fire prompted the Hahndorf Lions Club to initiate several actions, such as the establishment of a lookout (known as Blueberry Hill).

Community concern about bushfire risk also resulted in two large areas being cleared and slashed annually.

Despite natural regeneration, the Ash Wednesday fire caused the profuse germination of Montpellier and English broom. Pine waste also became heavily infested with weeds.

When the District Council of Mount Barker took over care of the reserve in 1984, it was used as a depot for stockpiling roadwork materials and waste. This resulted in further weed invasion.

Fortunately in 1995, the Mount Barker District Environmental Association identified Yantaringa as an area of significant remnant vegetation and initiated a conservation program to protect the reserve. It subsequently became a Bush For Life site in 1996.

Work began to protect the best areas of native vegetation. Broom, blackberry and watsonia were cleared, creating weed-fronts into the more degraded areas.

With minimal disturbance bushcare techniques, these areas of bushland freely recovered. Other more degraded areas are improving through the use of spot-regeneration.

In 2006 TFL staff took over the slashing regime, and followed up by strategic spot-spraying in between regenerating natives several times annually to reduce the weedy grasses.

The resulting regeneration has been far more rapid and abundant than we could ever have hoped for. The areas that require slashing and spraying are reduced each year as regeneration flourishes.

Hard work by volunteers and TFL staff has resulted in a reserve we hope will continue to improve, ensuring the long term conservation of Yantaringa Reserve.

One of Yantaringa’s hard working bushcare volunteers, Andrew Webber.

The beautiful Yantaringa Reserve, now well on its way to recovery.

Bush For Life Bush For Life


‘Mother’s managers’ find Clare nirvanaBy SALLY HOLMES

After a long search to find our ideal retreat, it finally

revealed itself on a warm summer’s day at the end of a narrow winding dirt road - one of four meandering out from a gum sheltered crossroads steeped in atmospheric history.

The last kilometre had us completely enchanted with twists and winds beckoning the journeymen along a winter creek in the Skillogalee Hills near Watervale in the Clare Valley.

The For Sale sign described the block as “majestic gum studded ready to build on” - the real estate beat up suiting us perfectly as we wanted to not only create an environmental home, but also to lead by example with a long term revegetation plan.

Enter Trees For Life, which seamlessly guided us with the germination of the first 1000-plus seeds (along with the whole family recruiting to help).

Before we knew it planting time was upon us, which translated into large pots of soup, bonfires, a literal ton of worm poo from the South East, tree guards etc and many special friends on the day falling into their preferred niches of ‘staking out’, providing entertainment or going for the record number in ground.

Four years later the trees tower over us and are challenging the weeds wonderfully. Soft native grasses are colonising fast and we feel like we are walking on marshmallows.

We were so enthused with the success rate that we now have three and a half thousand more leaping out of their sockets, and as I write I am waiting for the paint to dry on the numbered stakes to create a nature walk with a corresponding booklet so that people can clearly identify the species and preferred soils.

Direct seeding is also on the agenda.

On our 26 acres we have virtually all soil types and a steep hill and winter creek, so it has been fascinating to match the plant types with the sites.

My very favourite moment though, is thinking one has lost a ‘tree child’ only to gasp in sheer wonderment and excitement at a barely perceptible green dot on a pathetic stick which heralds renewal and extraordinary survival.

It is nice to have a break from the role of the ‘Dragin Lady’ after dragging big heavy hoses in drought years when we voted for life over death, and to worry about the ‘children’ just a little less so that we can get on with the walk and other projects such as house creating (which is so far behind I couldn’t be happier, as when it is finally finished we will be surrounded by our beautiful bushland as opposed to a war zone like building site).

I’ve even got the xanthorrhoeas near where our bedroom window will be! And our builder has just decided to become a member of Trees For Life to offset his carbon emissions.

So please folk, come and visit us. I promised the universe and Mother Earth that I would share our little piece of nirvana as we are merely ‘Mother’s managers’.

Four years later, after plenty of TLC, the trees tower over Sally.

Dozens of seedlings start their life as part of the Holmes’ revegetation plan for their Clare property.

Lyn’s beautiful journal to be launched at TFL Birthday

After years of drawing, painting and documenting

Adelaide Hills native flora and fauna, Trees For Life bushcarer Lyn Bartlett’s wishes will come true when she publishes her own book later this month.

Entitled Lyn’s Journal - a Selection of Illustrations from Field Journals Kept by a Lady of the Adelaide Hills, the book will officially be launched at Trees For Life’s 30th Birthday picnic on September 25.

Lyn and her husband Mike have dedicated much of their past 20 years to the environment, initially through the purchase of a degraded

8ha Meadows property. With help and advice

from TFL and the Goolwa to Wellington LAP, the Bartletts have transformed the land through various initiatives, including planting more than 50 different native species since 1992.

They have also tended two bushland sites since 2001 at Macclesfield Quarry and Survey Hill.

Lyn’s love of nature and documenting it through drawings and paintings began as a child growing up on the family’s 6000 acre property at Antechamber Bay, Kangaroo Island. As well as being a grazier, Lyn’s father Allen Lashmar was an avid ornithologist and environmentalist.

Since buying their own property, Lyn has kept a personal journal in which she has recorded in pencil,

pen and ink or watercolour, moments in the lives of the local birds as well as wildflowers that are found in Meadows and surrounding districts.

The drawings and paintings are beautifully executed and are a lively and faithful record of events and discoveries made by Lyn as she observes and records nature through changes in the weather and seasons.

Each work is accompanied by notes and thoughts from her own observations about species and the impacts of climate change and human intervention on our local environment. Lyn said she had an instinctive reaction to record what she saw “in case I don’t see it again”.

Lyn’s stunning works are being reproduced in the 60-page book, thanks largely to funding and support from the Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association and District Council of Mt Barker.

Just 1000 books will be printed and will retail at $30 each.

Mike and Lyn said the book would be of great interest to naturalists, as well as amateur and professional artists. It would also appeal to Adelaide Hills bushwalking groups and has direct relevance to students of ecology, biology and environmental science.

Thanks to the Bartletts, part proceeds of Lyn’s Journal - a Selection of Illustrations from Field Journals Kept by a Lady of the Adelaide Hills will go to Trees For Life to help us continue our on-going revegetation and conservation efforts.

Trees For Life will have copies of Lyn’s book available for sale, so to pre-order phone the office on 8406 0500. The book will also be on sale at our 30th Birthday picnic, in Brooklyn Park, on September 25.

One of Lyn’s watercolours, Pyrorchis nigricans. “During winter, the growing season for many of our terrestrial orchids begins, their tubers spread and send up leaves which start appearing amongst the leaf litter. Some, such as this very attractive ‘Red Bear’ grow a flat rubbery spotted leaf, sometimes quite large, which reminds me of a water lily pad. But the plants will not freely produce flowers until after a bushfire has burnt the vicinity.”

TFL member and bushcarer, Lyn Bartlett, with one of her journals, which comprise illustrations and observations collected over the past 18 years.

Red Beak or Black Widow Orchids (Pyrorchis nigricans). “With the good spring rains this year there have been beautiful strong specimens of this orchid in bloom, even though there has been no bushfire to trigger them. At the completion of flowering, the entire plant turns jet black. In Kyeema we saw one specimen which would have been 8” tall.”


started to look like some of my trees had survived and were growing nicely … added to that some good rainfall, and things were looking up.

In 2009 and 2010 someone grew trees for me as I had started my own business and had little time to do it myself.

This year, I picked up my 500 seedlings from my grower and I had a planting day with the local scout group. We managed to get all 500 planted and enjoyed a sumptuous BBQ lunch. Later that afternoon when everyone had gone home, the heavens opened up and gave our newly planted trees a good soak. We couldn’t have timed it better!

Next year I am going back to growing my own trees again as I would like to grow some

From island living to limestone paddocksBy SANDRA GECI Drover Park Homestead

I was first introduced to Trees For Life while living on

Kangaroo Island in the 1990s. I remember growing

and planting hundreds of allocasuarinas to encourage and provide food for the glossy black cockatoos.

I also grew and planted other trees and bushes on my property at western cove KI.

I moved back to the mainland in 2001 and purchased my property at Hartley (just out of Strathalbyn) in Oct 2002 - 32ha of sand limestone, around 6 pink gums (Eucalyptus fasciculosa) and just about every weed know to man!

My parents moved to the property with me where we purpose-built two homes in one. I then started to fence off sections of the property so we could start planting. The first year I was lucky enough to be given about five boxes of trees for this area by someone who had too many to plant out.

Soon after, I reinstated my membership with Trees For Life and started growing my own seedlings. I planted my first trees in May 2003, mainly along the paddock fence lines in front of the house, the driveway and around the shed.

I continued growing and planting for the next two years and then in 2005, did some direct seeding on a 15 metre wide x 2.5 kms long section which took in half of the south west end of the property. The first seedlings came up that same year in October.

Since moving onto the property I had planted approximately 1000 trees each year, but unfortunately I had severe losses from 2006 to 2008 due to drought and some very heavy frosts.

Then in May 2009 it actually

banksias, Wallaby grass and cypress pines. Each year I order different seedlings to mix up the canopy versus undergrowth.

My main aims in planting trees on my property are for wind and erosion control as well as shelter and wildlife habitat. Some of the birds that are now on the property are Ring neck mallees, hooded robins, blue wrens, diamond firetail finches, babblers and just recently the rosellas have found their way into our gardens. As they say ‘if you build it, they will come!’

I am still only halfway through revegetating my property so I will undoubtedly be having a long association with Trees For Life.

The bare limestone paddocks Sandra has had to contend with since moving to Hartley nine years ago.

Some of the first plantings along the driveway (the photo complete with all-important spots of rain!).

Members of the local scout group helped plant 500 seedlings on the property this year.

Children’s motto for the future

Dr Richard St. Barbe Baker was founder of the Children

of the Green Earth movement and in telling the children of a school in Queensland about it in 1981 he got them to repeat the movement’s motto –

“From our Hearts, With our Hands, For the Earth, All the World – together”

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Onkaparinga sites get plenty of attention

TFL Works’ involvement in the City of Onkaparinga’s

remnant bush sites aims to complement the work our existing volunteers provide.

This includes the more demanding work volunteers aren’t expected to do, such as large scale brushcutting, spraying, woody weed control as well as the more finer bulbous and herbaceous weed control.

The Onkaparinga sites TFL Works are involved in are:• Piggot Range Road Reserve• Pimpala Reserve• Glenloth Reserve• Woodland Ridge Conservation• Cherry Gardens Cemetery• Kangarilla Dump• Mandilla Reserve

TFL Works staff get the jump on Kangarilla kangaroos

As most of our landholders would know, the battle

against kangaroos and rabbits to ensure the survival of newly planted seedlings is an on-going one.

TFL Works was recently given the task of managing this problem when 150 precious plants were earmarked for a site adjacent to the Kangarilla Dump.

Due to high numbers of kangaroos in this particular area, any attempt to revegetate in the past has just provided grazing material.

Therefore extremely good protection for the plants was needed and this was achieved by TFL Works staff, who fenced off plots over a two-day period.

It is envisaged the plantings will provide canopy ‘stepping stones’ in the degraded areas, which are dominated by bracken, and avoid the potential for weed invasion.

Revegetation project planned for ElectraNet substation

TFL Works has been commissioned to undertake

a two-year revegetation project at the ElectraNet-owned Templers substation near Roseworthy.

The project will see 5000 indigenous seedlings planted, as well as an on-going maintenance phase.

The revegetation work will not only provide an amenity value surrounding the substation but also increase the overall native vegetation in the region. And with more than 90% of the Barossa Valley’s native vegetation cleared, revegetation projects like this are invaluable.

One of the finished plots which will keep out hungry kangaroos.

The barren ElectraNet substation site at Templers will dramatically change appearance in coming years thanks a revegetation project being undertaken by TFL Works.

Assembling wire tree guards at the Kangarilla Dump.

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TFL Works

One of the council sites being looked after by TFL Works.

TFL Works staff member Priya Spencer uses the drill and fill method on an olive tree.

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Have a small or difficult area to revegetate? We’ve got just the machine!By DAVID HEIN Direct Seeding Manager

Direct seeding is done on a range of sites. The larger

sites can easily be done with the two seeding machines that Trees For Life already have - the seeder that’s towed behind a 4WD and the other seeder that attaches to a tractor.

However, we quite often get enquiries to seed small or difficult areas which are not easy with our current equipment.

In 2009 we purchased a quad bike for spraying. As well, we developed a machine that helped in our hand direct seeding operations. This machine worked well and made hand direct seeding much faster, therefore reducing costs for our clients that had difficult sites.

While the machine was successful, we still relied upon our dedicated volunteers to actually put the seed into the ground.

New inventionAfter discussions with Rod

Burford - the inventor of our other two direct seeding machines - it was decided to try and make a scaled down version of the machine that is towed by our 4WD that could be towed by our quad bike.

We had to get it right the first time and while the concept sounded easy, it required much thought because not every part of the larger machine could be scaled down.

After quite a few planning meetings we came up with a design that we were happy with but were unsure as to what the next step should be.

Rod’s thoughts were that to get it right the first time we needed detailed plans, so

he engaged the draughtsman who helped design the larger seeding machines to design the quad seeder.

An agreement was arranged with Rod that he would pay for the design work and TFL would pay for the steel and parts for the machine. It would be built at Rod’s workshop with both Rod, Dennis and I supplying labour to complete the machine.

After reviewing the plans and making changes, we finally came up with a design we were happy with.

Work on the machine started in April 2011 and was completed in late June.

We were very concerned prior to trialling the machine as to how successful it would be, but discovered it worked incredibly well.

And after a few minor modifications, the quad bike seeder is ready to go.

Great expertiseA lot of expertise and

experience is needed to build a direct seeding machine. Steel has to be cut to specified lengths, machine parts that have to be made and some parts purchased off the shelf.

TFL would like to thank Rod Burford for his input into the project, including the use of his workshop. Without Rod’s help this machine could not have been completed.

An important part of the machine also is the press wheel which is worth hundreds of dollars. This was kindly donated to TFL, with shipping costs paid, by Moose Industries of Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula. We thank Emma and Nigel from Moose Industries for their support.

Now that Dennis and I have put the quad bike seeder through its paces, we are sure it will be used on many sites in the future. Already, we plan to use the machine on our sites in Southern Yorke Peninsula in conjunction with our 4WD seeder.

The quad bike seeder is just another tool used to fulfil TFL’s aim to revegetate major parts of South Australia.

2011 seed collection workshop (SC1)Mon Oct 10 Belair National Park 9am

The seed collection workshop content will include ecological considerations (why use local seed), kinds of fruit and seed, collection and extraction. The afternoon will be spent in the field for practical demonstrations and experience.

For more information or bookings phone the TFL office on 8406 0500 or talk to TFL Seed Bank Manager, Bruce Smith.

A remarkable life: Isabel SuterBy DENNIS HAYLES TFL Carbon Manager

During my 10 years at Trees For Life I have met many

interesting people and I’d like to share with you snippets of the life of a woman who has, over many cups of tea, given me an insight into her remarkable life.

I met Isabel Suter in 2007 after a call from Eastern Hills & Murray Plains Catchment Group’s Harry Seager (pictured). He advised me to contact a “lovely old lady” from Mannum who wished to discuss the possibility of carrying out some revegetation on her property.

The property, sitting above the cliffs along the River Murray corridor, had been farmed at various stages - rather unsuccessfully - and Isabel thought it best to return some of the land to nature with trees and shrubs.

It consisted of a variety of landforms, from gently undulating shallow soil over limestone to stark rocky outcrops and a spectacular gorge weather worn over the eons by water and time.

Isabel’s property was suitable to become part of TFL’s Carbon Program, whereby we would carry out native revegetation to absorb greenhouse gasses in return for the land’s protection by covenant.

Since coming to agreement with Isabel, I have spent many days from early 2008 to the present actively direct seeding, spraying, rabbit baiting, monitoring, weeding, and having cups of tea.

Sitting with Isabel in her lounge overlooking the river, I came to learn of dedication, risk taking and amazing achievement.

Isabel was born at Berri, in fact on Block 64 Mortimer Road (named after her father) in the family’s second house - the first burning down due to a wayward lantern.

Her father, a fruit grower, had Isabel involved in the daily chores from a young age, initiating her into a ‘hands on’ approach that would see her well throughout her life. She attended Berri Primary School and Glossop High School before enrolling to study medicine at Adelaide Uni in1949.

RAH surgeonAfter completing her

studies in 1955 Isabel took up placement as 1st year House Surgeon at the RAH, and then went on to become second year senior House Surgeon at the Mildura Base Hospital. She also spent a year at the QEH, then a maternity hospital, delivering of all things, babies.

She met her man, Len, and they were married in 1958 whilst Isabel was locum GP at Waikerie, and they had their first son Robert.

After a time spent at Lipson near Tumby Bay where second son Tim was born, Isabel was offered and accepted to become sole GP at remote Wudinna on Eyre Peninsula.

Isabel recounted the many tasks required of a GP in those times, when there was no-one else at hand and a helicopter transfer of a sick patient was not yet dreamed of.

70+ babiesIn eight years she delivered

more than 70 babies, attended road accidents, made countless house calls, acted as anaesthetist for visiting surgeons, took x-rays, consoled the ill and grieving, trained St John volunteers and made daily visits to the Wudinna Hospital. A consulting GP at that time was paid the princely sum of £2/10p, and consultations may take up to an hour! Oh how times have changed.

On one occasion, Isabel was called to a “road accident” out in the bush. Upon arrival, she found a paddy wagon, several policemen sitting under a tree and a man lying on the road in quite a bad state. As it turned out the man was in fact being transferred to Canberra to face drug charges and had

managed to pick the lock of the wagon’s rear door, and fell to the ground at quite some speed, severely injuring himself!

Cliff rescueOn another occasion, not

wishing to inform people of being three months pregnant with a daughter Fiona on the way, Isabel agreed to take part in a St John training drill which required her being let down the side of a cliff on a rope to carry out a ‘cliff fall rescue’, which she managed with aplomb, and a quietly panicking husband Len watching on!

After leaving her GP position Isabel helped her husband Len on the farm that they had busily built up in the eight years, accumulating 5400 acres of cropping and grazing land, until moving to Mannum in 1999 to ‘retire’.

They searched around for an appropriate property. Len had several pre-requisites. The first, having seen his family property washed away during

the 1956 floods, was that they were well above the “’56 line”, the second was that he have a little land, and the third was a good view of the river. They achieved these things, but unfortunately Len passed away in 2000 after a long illness.

Isabel has continued on maintaining the property and whenever I carry out a site inspection of the 25 hectares of direct seeded revegetation, Isabel is always up for a tour of the plantings.

We have had our share of share of tribulations, with the property only receiving 155mm for the whole of the 2008 year when we first seeded 10 hectares. 2009 was much better with excellent germination and establishment, and in time this project’s success will be a wonderful legacy left by Isabel.

Thank you Isabel for allowing me the privilege of sharing your life over a cuppa, and may there be many more.

2011 group seed collection day (SD1)Mon Oct 17 Wistow-Strathalbyn area.( Meet 9am at Mt Barker in the carpark on Mann Street.)

Direct Seeding TFL Carbon

The new scaled down version of the direct seeder which can be towed behind the quad bike for use on small or difficult sites.

One of the brains behind the new seeder, Rod Burford, was also responsible for designing TFL’s existing two other direct seeding machines. David Hein watches Rod work on the frame in his workshop.

The view of this year’s high River Murray from Isabel’s property at Mannum.

Isabel inspects some of the growing seedlings on her property.

Despite drought conditions at first, the direct seeding is a success.

Isabel discusses her revegetation needs with EHMPC’s Harry Seager. Photo: Steve Coombe.


Doug and Olga have spent 12 wonderful years post-retirement on their beautiful Flaxley property. However as Doug approaches 80 years, they have decided to put the property, Arcadia, up for sale.

Since settling on the property, Doug and Olga have revegetated the 60 acres with a wide variety of local native species.

The plantings are protected for 100 years on the title through the Trees For Life Carbon program.

The house on the property has three bedrooms, ensuite, study, open-plan living area and kitchen, separate lounge room and a wide back verandah. It is energy efficient, has solar hot water and is well protected from fire, with an abundant water supply.

There is a double carport, separate double garage which is used for woodwork, and a huge lock-up machinery shed with 3-phase power, water, and concrete floor, which is potentially lettable.

Arcadia’s location is extremely peaceful. The house is situated on park-like grounds with plenty of solitude, but still offers easy access (45 mins) to the city centre. Good shopping at Mt Barker is also just a short drive away.

The property features many beautiful walks and views, as well as abundant bird-life and wildlife. It provides a great opportunity to observe a developing ecology and ample room for the new owners to continue adding under-storey to provide a more complete balance of revegetation.

All reasonable offers will be considered. For more details, phone Olga on 8388 3968.

Peaceful Arcadia for sale2011 Bush For Life workshops (B1)If you are interested in becoming a volunteer on one of our Bush For Life sites or would like to learn more about managing your own bushland then come along to an Introductory Bush For Life workshop. Phone 8406 0500 to register for workshops.

Tues September 6 StirlingSat September 10 ClareSat September 17 Playford-ElizabethSat October 8 Brooklyn ParkTues October 25 Goolwa

2011 Advanced BFL workshopsBasic Plant Identification Sep 3 StirlingBasic Plant Identification Oct 27 StirlingGrass ID + Management *Nov 10 Brooklyn ParkGrass ID + Management *Nov 12 Stirling * Both Grass ID workshops are now full but if there is enough demand we will schedule a third for November 17. Please phone us to register your interest.

Open weekend at Walpa Sanctuary

Trees For Life members are invited to spend the October

long weekend at Walpa Sanctuary near Robertstown.

Owned by long-term TFL member John Boully, Walpa is a private mallee reserve of over 600 hectares (1500 acres).

The property was lightly grazed in the past, but in recent years stock has been removed and feral goats have been controlled, resulting in a remarkable resurgence of indigenous plant life.

In addition to controlling weeds with help from Bush For Life, John has begun to revegetate previously logged areas with plants from the Tree Scheme. Watering points for birds and access gates for kangaroos and emus create an excellent environment to observe the abundant local wildlife.

Day visitors are welcome to visit Walpa, but in order to truly appreciate this special location, people are encouraged to camp overnight on site, which is provisioned with a toilet and

several clear areas to camp.If you would like to be sent

information about the open weekend on October 1-3, please call Trees For Life on 8406 0500 or John Boully on 0415 646 582.

John Boully’s 600 hectare mallee property, Walpa Sanctuary, near Robertstown.

Special family memories created through Tree Scheme

Many thanks for the prompt to “tell you our story” in

ReLeaf.The 2010/2011 season marked

the 21st consecutive growing year for my wife Jenny and myself with Trees For Life at our inner city home in Adelaide.

During that time we’ve probably grown in excess of 10,000 trees for various landholders and revegetation projects around South Australia.

Our longest association has been with John and Helen Ashby and their son Nick and his wife Chris for their Wirreanda homestead near Snowtown in the Mid North. We propagated trees for them for close to 15 years to help restore the virtually treeless landscape – usually 10 boxes (600+) of trees a year – for them and adjacent properties.

At times we helped plant the trees at Wirreanda as well, receiving Helen’s homemade tomato sauce in return. It was always a great trip for our boys to come with me to deliver and plant the trees – and experience a ‘real’ farm – with all its adventures.

While we cut back to 6 boxes a year a few years

ago, we’ve continued to grow for landholders in the Mid North. The last season was no different with trees destined for lower Yorke Peninsula and Murray Bridge.

Our one and only ‘dud’ year was last year – when 4 boxes of twice sown acacias yielded a paltry 40 tree seedlings, to go with 2 boxes of eucalypts. Not a good experience fronting the revegetation project at Happy Valley reservoir. Thankfully we now know the reasons!

I’ve also been able to assist the running the Mitcham TFL Depot for a number of years – a refreshing experience seeing lots of familiar faces each year and, lots of new, younger faces.

Thank you TFL for the opportunity to ‘give a bit back’.

It continues to be a very rewarding pastime – native flora propagation with a purpose. Initially it was a personal interest, then something to do with our boys Cameron and Lachie in their early years. Sadly we lost our younger son, Lachie (17) to cancer in November 2009.

Native tree propagation now gives important time for personal reflection – filling tubes, tending the new seedlings, and transplanting to ensure that landholder contracts are filled.

Best wishes, MARK HALL (TFL Member, Westbourne Park)

Members PagesMembers Pages

Trees For Life held a special morning tea for seedbank volunteers Lois Moore and Judy Bateman (centre) to recognise their 20 years of volunteering with TFL. Also attending was another seedbank volunteer, who has worked with us for 15 years, Terry Wollaston.

Qualified & experienced

Consultation

Landscape design

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Garden makeovers

www.wagtail.net.au

0416 336 376

Bush For Life volunteers at the Mandilla Reserve Open Day in July, held to showcase Geoff and Barbara Moss’s wonderful efforts as bushcarers for the Flagstaff Hill site.

Barbara, third from left, takes visitors through the Mandilla Reserve site.


A satisfying project for brothersBy PETER PHILLIPS

My brother Len and I were both taught by our father

in the 1950s at Peters Hill Primary School near Riverton in the Lower North.

Dad loved growing trees from seed and having the students plant them in the schoolyard on Arbor Day.

The old school burned down in the 1960s and maintenance of the old school yard, the nearby church and a large vacant block between them, has been in the hands of Friends of The Peters Hill Church (FOTPHC) for many years.

Last year representatives of FOTPHC contacted Len and expressed an interest in planting the vacant block with trees. Len immediately suggested that he act on behalf of FOTPHC as the landholder and ask me as a regular grower for Trees For Life to raise seedlings to plant in the block.

Len and I are both members of TFL and FOTPHC, and so

it came to pass that I had the pleasure of growing 10 species of local trees to establish a block of local representative trees and shrubs to plant in the block of land that sits exactly opposite the house in which we used to live. Any left overs will be sold at a nominal price to local landholders with proceeds going to FOTPHC to help maintain the church and the old school yard.

Old stomping groundLen and I had great pleasure

in returning to our old stomping ground earlier this year and handing over the seedlings to James Huppatz, whose father Con and my father were keen arborists in the district those many years ago.

Also present at the Peters Hill site were Adrian Behn

and his sister Denise Frahn, the latter also being a former student of Peters Hill Primary School. Adrian, a local farmer, has been instrumental in weed control on the block and Denise has sourced rabbit guards to protect the seedlings.

‘To give is better than to receive,’ the old adage goes, and coupled with giving back to a place that was so important in our developmental years is doubly satisfying.

We look forward to following the progress of the trees.

Len Phillips hands over the seedlings to James Huppatz.

Elizabeth’s growing efforts scattered far and wide

I have grown trees since about 1991. I grew for a landholder

in Wudinna for a few years – for most of that time he would pick up the trees when he came to collect his daughter from boarding school for the first term holidays.

He also sent me pictures of some of the avenues of trees he had planted on his property.

The longest stint was for a farmer at Booborowie who, along with his neighbour, was very keen on planting trees on the hills there and the roadsides were woefully bare before he started.

The last time I called in he was busy tilling the roadside 1km or so from his house, preparing the ground so the local schoolchildren could plant trees.

However he eventually sold and moved to a property out from Hamilton, Victoria, as he thought Goyder’s line was moving south and the prospects for his area were not good in the long term.

Other places I have grown trees for include Ungurra on Eyre Peninsula, the Hills area up from Port Elliot, Hindmarsh Island, Adelaide Hills and Upper South-East, as well as several places in the mid-North.

I was also part of a group of volunteers who planted trees along the area set aside for the South-Eastern freeway. When the freeway was officially opened, I was on the bus which was the first vehicle to use the freeway, with the government officials of the time.

I also volunteered for Bush For Life for several years, working with a partner to clear an area of boneseed adjoining Belair National Park. I wish Trees For Life every success for the future.

Yours Sincerely, ELIZABETH REMILTON.

Blackmans’ sense of pride in ‘giving something back’

Helen Blackman has always been passionate about

helping the environment. The Trees For Life volunteer

grew seedlings for rural properties for about 20 years before giving up because of a back injury - but said she has enjoyed seeing the trees grow in the country communities.

Through TFL, Helen and her husband Paul, of Trinity Gardens, have built a strong friendship with rural landholders Doug and Melody Twelftree and have followed the 900 acre Culburra property’s progress.

Over the years, the land has been revegetated through their team-work, making Helen feel she has had an impact on the area.

“When you go and see the results first-hand, you certainly realise that you have made a difference,” the music teacher said.

“It was just lovely each year going down to Culburra; driving along the road and just looking in the distance at this growing green hill.

“It was great and a good experience for the whole family.”

Helen initially joined Trees For Life to help the natural landscape and give her three children a connection to rural Australia.

She said she wanted to help after seeing years of outback degradation while on her own childhood holidays.

“If we help the environment, it gives back to us. If we keep mucking it up, we’re going to find the human race with a lot more hardship in future,” she said.

Through the Tree Scheme, TFL has brought landholders and city volunteers together to help re-establish native

vegetation and wildlife habitat in areas traditionally cleared for farming.

Melody Twelftree said she has noticed a vast improvement in her property since working with the Blackmans.

Trees have stabilised sand dunes on their previously owned 350-acre property and have brought native animals back to their current home.

Melody said she has been pleased with the results of the revegetation work.

“I reckon we’ve done a great job and I’m very proud of it,” she said. “I look at the trees and I always think of Helen and the family.”

While the revegetation flourished on the property, the families’ friendship did as well, with the Blackmans staying with the Twelftrees each year when delivering the seedlings. It gave the Blackmans, especially the children, a chance to experience country life.

“At that time our children had had no contact with the country we had no relatives on farms - so our children had no opportunity to look at another side of life,” she said.

“It was just really nice to be able to spend time with people who had entirely different opinions on lots of topical things.”

Doug and Melody have now retired from the farm, but Melody says she maintains a special relationship with Helen and has been grateful for her hard work.

And despite now having to give up working with Trees For Life, Helen said her time with the organisation has been worthwhile.

“It was good because it was so appreciated,” she said.

“It was just lovely to give something back to the Twelftrees and to see how much they appreciated that; it was a real buzz actually.”

Doug and Melody Twelftree with the first year’s seedlings, in 1992.

Doug and Melody, together with Paul Blackman, among some successful plantings in 1996.

A ceremonial planting of the first seedlings in April, 1990. A label named for each member of the Blackman family went alongside the first seedlings they planted, which Helen said was a very welcoming gesture.


ElectraNet Sponsor since 1999

ElectraNet owns and maintains the high voltage

powerlines that distribute Electricity across the State.

In 1999 ElectraNet sponsored the growing of 25,000 seedlings as part of its commitment to The Greenhouse Challenge, a program which was devised to encourage businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order for Australia to meet commitments made in Kyoto in 1998. While the greenhouse debate continues, ElectraNet has maintained its commitment to the environment through annual Red Gum sponsorship of Trees For Life and through the engagement of TFL’s trained staff in assisting with the maintenance of native vegetation at its Cherry Gardens sub station site.

More recently ElectraNet has committed to sponsor the new initiative Trees For Towns which will see 30 towns across SA grow and plant out 1000 local native seedlings each. This will result in 30,000 local native seedlings being planted to help beautify town entrances, parks, open spaces, roadside verges and medium strips.

Support of long-term sponsors vital to our existenceBy GLENYS PERRI TFL Sponsorship Officer

It all began under the enthusiastic zeal of one Mr Trevor Curnow … effervescent tree hugger, tree lover, environmental advocate

and an all ‘round good guy who generously offered his expertise and connections within the business sector to help Trees For Life procure sponsorship.

As a result of Trevor’s forthright approach in the early 1990s, several fantastic partnerships were formed with some key South Australian businesses; some of which continue to support TFL today.

While the business sector has altered substantially in this time, the need to rehabilitate and restore our natural environment is still paramount. With new threats from a changing climate and invasive weed species, along with constant changes to funding and financial security, we are finding sponsorship acquisition in a highly competitive market an ongoing challenge. Sponsorship is an extremely important component to ensure our work continues.

This feature applauds and highlights our long-term sponsors. We cannot thank them enough for their continued support of Trees For Life and encourage our members where possible to support the businesses that help support us.

DisclaimerTrees For Life takes no re-sponsibility for the services or products featured in its quarterly magazine, ReLeaf.

Foodland – The Mighty South Aussies Sponsor since 1996

This relationship started in 1996 with an ambitious

project of funding the growing of one million seedlings to help landholders across the State revegetate the landscape.

A cheque for $60,000 was presented to Trees For Life in February 1996, which was the largest sponsorship contribution ever received by TFL at the time. This was the start of a long-term commitment from Foodland, which agreed to support TFL with an annual sponsorship of $10,000. Foodland has since increased its commitment to Silver Banksia Level Sponsorship.

Other valuable contributions include: • A percentage from the sale

of Mount Franklin bottled water sold in their stores;

• A donation from funds generated through the company’s annual golf day;

• Helping to fund a quad bike for our Direct Seeding program and the seed collection trailer;

• Providing produce for fundraising events such as our recent Government House Open Day, and

• Featuring Trees For Life in its catalogues and in-store promotions.

Foodland has helped to fund a quad bike for our Direct Seeding program, and a seed collecting trailer.

ETSA Utilities Sponsor since 1992

While a relationship with trees isn’t something you

would necessarily expect a power company to have, a core part of ETSA Utilities’ business is to keep vegetation clear of powerlines. This mandatory safety measure was the catalyst for a partnership formed between ETSA Utilities and TFL. ETSA has been the naming right sponsor of the TFL propagation booklet for many years and continues to fund its production. It is a highly sought after booklet, with more than 1000 volunteer growers using it each year. The booklet remains vital in providing volunteer growers with step-by-step instructions on how to prepare, sow, care and nurture the seedlings being grown for landholders across the State.

Dunnings Engineering Sponsor since 1996

Just like TFL, Dunnings Engineering Services grew

from small beginnings in suburban Adelaide, cutting blank steel plates for vehicle number plates. It also manufactured its own clear flow water softener.

The company moved to larger premises in the mid-1950s until the present site at Dudley Park was built in 1968.

Dunnings is now a quality endorsed Australia-wide manufacturer and distributor of builders and plumbers hardware, specialising in timber connectors (including stainless steel), plumbing products and sets, sheetmetal work and contract press shop manufacturing. Dunnings is proud of its association with Trees For Life and its contribution to the environment through this long-term sponsorship.

Ultra Tune Sponsor since 1995

It all began back in 1995, when Ultra Tune director Tim

Carracher was concerned about the excessive carbon fumes being emitted when an engine was due for servicing.

Being in the automotive industry, Ultra Tune was very aware that cars have an impact on the environment, so Ultra Tune decided to make a donation to TFL for every car serviced at all 20 Ultra Tune locations in South Australia.

Realising that South Australia had been excessively cleared, Ultra Tune also contributed funds towards the initial purchase of the Direct Seeding machine when Trees For Life first began providing the service of broadscale revegetation.

Ultra Tune is a conservation sponsor of Trees For Life. This

An inspection of the Cherry Gardens sub station site.

Alfred James Sponsor since 1991

Trees For Life would not be Trees For Life if the Alfred

James Funerals owners hadn’t agreed to let us have rights to the name in the early 1980s.

The name was registered by Graham James around 1978 after he saw a sticker on a ute in Belair and it struck a chord.

“I had heard of a program run by the Batesville Casket Company in America, involving a community planting program where the company helped plant a tree as a memorial for the local community,” Graham said.

“I guess I had a similar sort of concept in mind when I decided to check if the name was registered and I went down to the Companies Office in Adelaide to register it as a business name.”

Graham said a couple of years later the then Men of the Trees President Andy Sutherland asked him if the organisation could have the rights to the name, as they

wanted to change Men of the Trees to Trees For Life, and a search had revealed it was already taken by Alfred James.

“I agreed to sign the name over and then I agreed to pay them money to plant trees for us as part of a memorial tree program and basically we have been working together to do this ever since.”

Thus the Memory Tree Program was established between Alfred James Funerals and TFL in 1991 and has resulted in thousands of native seedlings being planted in memory of loved ones.

The first plantings were at O’Halloran Hill in the south, followed by a program at Cobbler Creek in the north. Once the trees filled out in those areas, the memory tree program was moved to Monarto, where it has been working really well ever since.

In 2001 the Alfred James partnership with Trees For Life won the South Australian Medium Business Category in the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships.

CMV Foundation

The CMV Foundation was instrumental in helping us

realise our dream of finding a permanent base.

Trees For Life received $450,000 from the Foundation – the single largest donation in its history – to buy our Brooklyn Park home in late 2006.

We have had several bases over the past 30 years and an indication of another move in 2004 prompted TFL Board and Management to investigate the possibility of a permanent residence. Buying and developing our current home would not have been possible without CMV’s help.

The CMV Foundation’s relationship with TFL is long standing and was initially formed through CMV Farms which has utilised our expertise and resources for several projects.

Because of the significance of CMV Foundation’s gift, we have named them Perpetual Sponsor.

NRM Boards Partners since 2003

The Bush For Life program has been supported for the

past eight years by two local Natural Resource Management Boards, the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Board and the SA Murray Darling Basin NRM Board through their annual investment strategies.

The partnership between TFL and the Boards enables us to provide training to a wide variety of community members in bush regeneration and to support volunteers and landholders to work on local bush regeneration projects (aka Bush For Life sites).

With 59 Bush For Life sites in the SAMDB and 244 sites in the AMLR region, the Bush For Life program complements the

Local Government Partners since 1994

More than 70% of all our Bush For Life sites are on

local government reserves and roadsides.

The BFL program collaborates with 20 different local governments from Clare in the north to Onkaparinga and Alexandrina in the south.

Each of these councils contributes financially to operations of the program, the remainder being funded by NRM Boards and TFL members and

sponsors. The main benefits to councils of partnership is the training, expert on-ground advice and support that BFL coordinators can give local volunteers, often beyond the capacity of local councils.

Special thanks go to Onkaparinga and Adelaide Hills Council who have recently entered into formal partnership agreements with TFL.

Some councils even send their staff on our Bush Regeneration Workshops and some council staff have become BFL volunteers with their own sites! Without the long term support and collaboration of local government, the Bush For Life program could not exist.

contribution helps the Bush For Life program in the preservation of our native vegetation. These small remaining parcels of bushland are threatened by invasive weed species, so it is vital to ensure their preservation as a food source and habitat for native wildlife. Through the support of Ultra Tune the work of our volunteers in conservation continues to preserve these precious parcels of habitat for our unique native flora and fauna.

other community involvement programs the Boards run, filling a significant piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is natural resource management.

Our long-term Sponsors and SupportersOur long-term Sponsors and Supporters

Trees For Life Spring 2011 Number 120 31Trees For Life Spring 2011 Number 12030

Useful contactsNRM Board Contacts Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges Kym Good 8273 9100Alinytjara Wilurara Trevor Naismith 8357 3880Eyre Peninsula Annie Lane 8682 5755Kangaroo Island Bill Haddrill 8553 4300Northern & Yorke Lynne Walden 8636 2361South Australian Arid Lands Geoff Axford 8648 5194South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Hugo Hopton 8532 9100South East Tim Collins 8724 6000

Local native seed & seedling suppliersTrees For Life 8406 0500Blackwood Seeds - Fleurieu Peninsula, Mid North, Adelaide Hills & Murray Mallee 8558 8288Northern Lofty Native Seeds - Ph 8566 3073 Northern Lofty provenance. Fax 8566 3630Provenance Indigenous Nursery - Adelaide coast, plains and hills 8345 0300Themeda - Adelaide Plains 8431 5768 Wirrascape - Aldinga Plains 8557 4173Fleurieu Natives - Adelaide Hills and South Coast 8556 9167Yorke Seeds - Yorke Peninsula 8853 1120Eucaleuca Native Services - South East 8762 2061Growing Bush - Southern Mt Lofty Ranges & South Adelaide 0427 722 979Alexandrina Community Nursery - Southern Fleurieu and South Coast 8554 2555Eyre Native Seeds - Eyre Peninsula & Far West 8682 6233 Barossa Bushgardens - Barossa region 0448 676 348South Para Biodiversity Project - Yvonne Gravier 0430 018 007

Trees For LifeTrees For Life, 5 May Tce, Brooklyn Park 5032Ph: (08) 8406 0500; Fax: (08) 8406 [email protected]; www.treesforlife.org.au

Trees For Life BoardPresident - David MitchellVice President - Michael CainTreasurer - Secretary - Megan HarperBoard Members - David Grybowski, Warren Hilton, Jonathan Lambert, Nathan Daniell, Natasha Davis and Megan Antcliff.

Trees For Life Key ContactsChief Executive Officer - Carmel DundonOffice Manager - Lisa AdamsTree Scheme Manager - Maureen RedfernBush For Life Manager - Mark EllisDirect Seeding Manager - David HeinCN Operations (Land) - Dennis HaylesSeedbank Manager - Bruce SmithTFL Works Manager - Sam RudolphMembership - Bess HillyardSponsorship - Glenys PerriMedia & Communications - Tania KearneyFundraising - Bernie Omodei

Trees For Life Rural ContactsGawler Sylvia Nieuwenhuizen 8406 8419Noarlunga Graham Greaves 8386 1018Willunga Joyce West 8323 7513 Paul Rosser 8556 6642Mt Gambier Briony Schleuniger 8724 9759Mt Pleasant Ruth Charlesworth 8524 6661Clare Dean Schubert 8843 4317

H A P B O G C L U B M O S S P Y B

I N O R T H E R N Q U O L L R K T

H S S O A S P I D E R O R C H I D

H L P O S W I F T P A R R O T N L

A A R M M A G H O S T B A T N G E

I T E W A M U L G A R A B H I Q S

R E Y A N P D A Y E K T R E G U S

Y R R T I G E E L S I F O A H A E

P S O T A U R A L I N F L T T I R

O S E L N M H A N D G T G H P L B

D K H E D W A N N K F S A R A T I

W I G R E Y N U R S E S H A R K L

A N O U V A L M L T R H E T R R B

T K L E I A D B E R N S O F O T Y

T B H E L P L A T Y P U S K T I D

L G I L B E R T S P O T O R O O S

E B P Y G M Y Y A C C A R A N C H

Find our threatened species in the word search

National Threatened Species Day is held on September 7

each year and encourages the community to become involved with conserving our native plants and animals.

The first National Threatened Species Day was held in 1996, in commemoration of the loss of the last Tasmanian Tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936.

Hidden in the adjacent word search are the names of 24 endangered or vulnerable Australian species. See if you can find them all and with the unused letters reveal a hidden message.

1. Blue Whale2. Tasmanian Devil3. Northern Quoll4. Swift Parrot5. Grey Nurse Shark6. Gilberts Potoroo7. Numbat8. Swamp Gum9. King Fern10. Spider Orchid11. Hairy Pod Wattle12. Broom Wattle13. King Quail14. Heath Rat15. Lesser Bilby16. Osprey17. Pygmy Yacca18. Ghost Bat19. Bog Clubmoss20. Night Parrot21. Mulgara22. Slaters Skink23. Platypus24. Brolga

Birthday party

Hey Kids Branchers, I hope you are coming to our big

birthday party on Sunday, September 25. As well as activities and displays for kids, there is a huge oval where you can kick a ball or throw a frisbee. Come and say hello to me on the day!

BESS

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Service Directory

Thanks to two of our newest Kids Branch members, brothers Benjamin, 5, and James Rawlings, 7, who sent us some beautiful tree drawings, complete with flowers and animals. Thanks Benjamin and James!

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32 Trees For Life Spring 2011 Number 120

Maggie the m

agpie by Hannah

Did you know?

Did you know that over the past 30 years, Trees For Life

has helped to grow 30 million seedlings? That is the equivalent of a forest around the size of 15,000 AAMI Stadiums!

These seedlings (many of them now mature plants) include not only trees, but also a range of bushes, shrubs, ground covers and grasses. They have provided wind breaks, erosion control, and shelter, food and habitat

for numerous animals. Not only this, but they have also helped provide us with clean air to breathe. With the help of many volunteers Trees For Life has also collected over 6,000kg of native seed over the last 30 years. Would you believe that this weight is equivalent to that of an African elephant? That sure is a lot of seed considering how little one tiny seed weighs.

Lorikeet drawings spectacular

With over 60 wonderful entries submitted for the

Trees For Life colouring-in competition, it was not an easy task deciding on the winners.

However, I’m sure you will agree that the chosen pictures are spectacular! The vivid colours of the Rainbow Lorikeet were captured beautifully by all participants. Believe it or not, with such bright plumage lorikeets actually blend in with the colourful native blossoms and leaves that they feed amongst. Their diet consists of nectar, which is mopped up with their brush like tongues.

Thank you to all of the creative kids who entered the competition - you did an

amazing job. The lucky winner of each age category is now the proud owner of some great prizes including a Port Power prize pack, Earth Greetings gift card pack, free entry pass to Cleland Wildlife Park and a double pass to Wallis Cinemas.

To see all the entries visit our webpage at www.treesforlife.org.au.

BESS Cooper Chandler, 9, did this fantastic 3D lorikeet entry which certainly caught the eye of our judges and resulted in him winning the 9-12 age category. Well done Cooper!

Peter, aged 3, won the 0-3 age category.

Special mention goes to Lexie, 8, for drawing her own beautiful lorikeet - well done Lexie!

Six-year-old Satine’s entry won the 4-8 year age category.

Documents

ReLeaf Spring 2011