Over 500 seedlings in the ground on World Environment Day @ GSR!

With thanks to an incredible number of community members who came out on a fairly grey and cool Saturday afternoon on World Environment Day, Godfrey Street Reserve now has over 500 seedlings in the ground soaking up all of the amazing rain that we've been having over the past couple of weeks!

We couldn't have ordered better weather conditions if we tried! Fine conditions for planting followed by plenty of wet weather to really soak the ground for the 500+ new seedlings to establish their roots and grow strong over the coming months.

It was amazing to see so many people return for the second planting event that we've held at Godfrey Street Reserve since our collaboration with the City of Onkaparinga started in late 2019. An extra special mention to all of the young folk who gave up their Saturday afternoon (some even chose to plant seedlings over accepting invitations to other special events!) to get grubby at the reserve making sure that a huge number of plants went in the ground and that the seedling guards were beautifully decorated as well (check out the photos). Well done to all of you and thank you for caring so much about our local environment through words, pictures and most importantly, through action! Did you know that Dr Jane Goodall once said that “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference”. It is so true and our 'before' and 'after' photos are fabulous proof of just that!

We were also so thrilled to see a number of new faces and families join in on the day. Welcome! We can't wait to catch up with you again at the next event.

This planting event was extra special due to our new partnership with the Neporendi Aboriginal Forum who supported our grant application for the funding to purchase all of the seedlings for our Indigenous bush foods and medicine garden. We are really grateful for the expertise and support of Elijah Bravington and the Neporendi Aboriginal Forum committee and we look forward to what else we can do on this patch of Kaurna yarta (Kaurna country) into the future in continued collaboration with Elijah, Neporendi and the City of Onkaparinga.

We would also like to extend our warmest gratitude to the Sustainable Onkaparinga's Conservation Officer, Leanne Lawrence, who has dedicated her expertise and energy to this project in many ways over the past almost 2 years! We would be lost without Leanne. We would also like to thank Nikola Manos (Conservation) and Priah Dean (Community Connections) from the City of Onkaparinga for their continued contributions to this project.

It really has been such a joy to see and hear so many people from the local neighbourhood and local organisations come together to bring about some pretty significant environmental changes to our local reserve in such a short space of time with many exciting things still planned for the future.

So please make sure that you keep in touch! Don't forget to check out all of the new seedlings when you have the chance and please don't hesitate to send us an email to find out more about what's been happening or what is being planned next. We encourage and welcome everyone from the local community to get involved in whichever way works for you whether that be planting some seedlings, weeding, keeping an eye on the new plantings, offering advice, asking questions or submitting your ideas about what else you would like to see happen in your local open green space.

Take care 'til next time (which will hopefully be soon - watch this space!)