Over 60 students from Parkes and Forbes celebrated Schools Tree Day at Eco Day 2017 last week. Through Eco Day, Central West Lachlan Landcare (CWLL) offers workshops and bus travel to year 5 and 6 students for a day of environmental and rural activities.
The workshops included creating Net- Waste worm farms, plant care and propagation with Bunnings, soils with Local Land Services, Parkes Shire Council weeds demonstration and talk, lantern making with recycled products with Ro Burns and a saleyards tour with Cooper Byrnes from Langlands Hanlon. The lanterns will be used at the Forbes River Arts Festival in September.
The day finished with workshops from Paul Kirk, The Snake Man, and an interactive workshop with Chris Dart from Netwaste on how to reduce waste to landfill. Paul Kirk allowed the kids to get up close with reptiles. He talked about snake safety and how to handle non-venomous snakes.
The students also learned what to do if they were bitten. “I loved how the Snake Man just gave us the snakes to hold,” said Ava Hayes from Parkes Public School. “We want the kids to go away thinking about what they can do in their own homes and schools that can make a difference and prevent needless wastage. We hope that students leave the day with a wider perspective of the connection between humans and the environment that we live in,” said Margot Jolly, CWLL Chairperson.
Following on from Eco Day, National Tree Day on Sunday saw more than 40 people in Parkes planting 350 trees in the picturesque setting just off Danilenko Street. The portion of land will provide screening for residents near the new Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and extend the wildlife corridor from existing bushland in the area,
with native eucalypts and wattles being planted on the day.
CWLL Co-ordinator, Marg Applebee said: “We are thrilled to have over 40 people volunteering for National Tree Day.” The Skillset Green Army Team will continue planting work on the site over the next few weeks.