ribbons of green in selby

I've long been a keen supporter of the Shire of Yarra Ranges Ribbons of Green Program.

The Ribbons of Green program was developed to encourage the use of indigenous plants and to help offset carbon emissions caused by council's fleet. Rather than just rely on trees to offset our emissions we extended the program to include understory plants so we could generally improve the environmental and biodiversity outcomes for the shire. Council provides free plants each year to private landowners, schools and community groups looking to create bush habitats.

This planting effort was by the Grade 3 & 4 students at Selby Primary School. Known as the SWAT team (Saving Water and Trees), the students dedicate time every week to environmental learning through the Shire's Learning for Sustainability program.

The Ribbons of Green program sees an increase in the planting of native vegetation across the Shire. These plantings help provide habitat and shelter for our native animals, help with erosion control and weed reduction and on the whole improve the landscape and local amenity that Yarra Ranges is renowned for.

Every year the Shire makes 60,000 tubes of indigenous plants available free of charge to private landowners, schools and community groups. Plant guards, weed mats and stakes are also available. There's also information on how to prepare the planting site, control weeds and select appropriate plants.

If you'd like to know more about Ribbons of Green click here. Orders for plants are taken from July to November so that planting can be done the following May or June. It's a great program and it's nice to see it happening at a local level at Selby Primary School.