samantha in the press - environment

Trees planted for platy-push
Mail Newspapers
by Russell Bennett
31 May 2011

ribbons of green?

report from the roundtable - 22 feb

A motion was moved that sought a report on the progress of the Shire's Ribbons of Green program.

Ribbons of Green was developed as a way to offset the Shire's fleet greenhouse gas emissions. I have concerns about this approach as the hierarchy should be to firstly avoid emissions, if that's not possible minimise emissions and as a last option offset emissions.

It's not that I don't support improvement of biodiversity outcomes, I most certainly do, but this program is part of our Carbon Management Plan and I'm not convinced that we are seeing significant gains in the reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions.

With the indulgence of the mover of the motion I asked that the motion be amended to include a measure of carbon offsets as part of the report back. If it's about offsetting carbon emissions I think council needs to be aware of exactly what we're achieving.

I'm pleased to say that my amendment to the motion was included and I look forward to learning more about the progress of the Ribbons of Green program and its impact on the reduction of emissions in the Shire.

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.

free trees for ribbons of green

If you’d like to participate in Yarra Ranges’ Ribbons of Green program then you have till November this year to order your trees. Indigenous tube stock can be ordered for planting on both public and private land as part of the project.

The Ribbons of Green program has been developed to assist schools and private landholders establish bush style habitat, the program also assists community groups who revegetate council land.

Originally developed to reduce council’s Co2 emissions from our fleet vehicles (heavy and light), the program has developed into a more complex planting program to enrich biodiversity, so not only trees are planted, but valuable understorey plants are part of the program too.

Ribbons of Green is a program that focuses on a myriad of different issues including linking existing habitats, erosion controls, weed reduction and stock shelter.

The program has been immensely successful, this year 75,000 indigenous tube stock was planted on private and public land.

If you are interested in participating contact David Carr on d.carr@yarraranges.vic.gov.au or phoning 1300 368 333.

Free tree guards, stakes and weed mats are also be available to help the plants establish in the ground, as well as advice on how to prepare sites for planting, controlling weeds and selecting appropriate species for different locations.

Applications are assessed on the environmental benefits that can be achieved from the site, so existing vegetation, property size, land use and linkages with state or national parks and waterways will be considered as part of the assessment process.

If you’re interested get your application in soon!