The Tree Scheme Summer 2009Number 1

Volunteer Grower

If the seed you have sown has not germinated in the time specified in the appendix of your Propagation Instructions Booklet, please phone

us before February 6 and we will replace it.

Contact usVolunteer Grower is a production of Trees For Life.

If you would like to help us save paper by receiving this via email, please let us know.

Trees For Life

5 May Tce

Brooklyn Park 5032

Ph: 8406 0500

Fax: 8406 0599

info@treesforlife.org.au

Welcome to our new Volunteer GrowerBy COREY JACKSON

Volunteer Grower Coordinator

Welcome to the first edition of the ‘Volunteer

Grower’, a newsletter for all volunteer growers in the Trees For Life Tree Scheme.

The aim of the newsletter is to provide more educational information on growing seedlings for the Tree Scheme, as well as keeping volunteers up to date on issues and events.

If at any stage you want or need some advice, please remember that we are just a phone call away.

Finally, thank you to each and every one of you for helping our precious environment.

Propagation workshops a success

In the lead-up to the growing season, Trees For Life ran 17

plant propagation workshops in October and November.

The workshops provided a great opportunity for first time growers to learn about plant propagation and for experienced growers to refine or reinforce their knowledge.

Participants were guided through sections of the propagation instructions booklet and were given practical demonstrations and exercises. Transplanting seedlings was a crucial focal point.

The workshops, run by industry expert Harry Chambis and new Volunteer Grower Coordinator Corey Jackson, were fully attended and generated very positive feedback from participants.

Comments included:“Great opportunity

to try out skills and obtain feedback.”

“We feel much more comfortable and confident having seen and done it.”

“I’m enthused.”Additional workshops and

support for growers has been made possible through generous funding from the Foster’s Community Grants program.

Stop PressAn Open Day will be held at the Betty Westwood Nursery in Brooklyn Park on February 11 from 3-7pm. All growers are welcome to come along, meet the team and gain useful growing advice. (See back page for specific details)

Where do our seedlings get planted?

Seedlings are grown to order in the Tree Scheme by

volunteers at home and by staff at the Trees For Life nursery.

They are then planted throughout South Australia for many purposes such as reducing erosion, improving biodiversity or for amenity. But where do the hundreds of thousands of seedlings grown every year end up?

Many of our seedlings are grown for landholders on rural properties throughout the State and the rest are grown for environmental projects.

Forktree Road Reserve Revegetation Project

One such project was based near Myponga, where thousands of seedlings were planted in the Forktree Road Reserve.

The District Council of Yankalilla ordered these seedlings through TFL, made possible through a partnership agreement between TFL and Paramount Pictures from sales of the DVD An Inconvenient Truth.

A corridor was revegetated on the boundary of the Myponga Reservoir Water Reserve through to the Nixon-Skinner Conservation Park using these seedlings.

Seed was sourced from the Yankalilla zone for provenance reasons, ensuring the seedlings would be suited to the local area.

The Yankalilla Green Corps team planted the majority of seedlings at the site with assistance from the Kuitpo and Aldgate Green Corps Teams.

The Yankalilla Area School planted Trees For Life seedlings at the same site on National Schools Tree Day, providing environmental involvement and awareness to students from the district.

The plantings have been very successfully and just one way that Local and Federal Governments, Trees For Life and volunteers in partnership have contributed in improving the local environment through creating a wildlife corridor, improving biodiversity and addressing erosion problems.

What you need to do in Jan/Feb

• Ask us for replacement seed if needed.

• During Jan/Feb you should be keeping your germinating seedlings under 50% shade and the potting mix moist.

• Move seedlings into full sun at the first leaf stage.

• Water your tubes using a fine mist so that you don’t disturb seeds and germinating seedlings.

• Sow January labelled seeds such as most Eucalyptus species.

Propagating EucalyptusMost Eucalyptus species

need to be sown in late December or early January for them to be at a suitable size for the planting season.

See page 37 of your Propagation Instruction Booklet for sowing details.

Transplanting your seedlingsIf you have empty tubes

around one month after germination begins, you will need to transplant to fulfil your order as it is unlikely that many more seedlings will germinate.

Your seedlings should be at the first leaf stage, which is a perfect size to transplant. Do not leave your seedlings too long as the larger they get, the less likely they are to survive transplanting.

Most seedlings transplant easily if you follow a few easy rules on pages 20 and 21 of your Propagation Instructions Booklet.

Don’t thin out and throw away before you are sure you won’t need to transplant.

Use of shade

During the germination stage, use 50% shade cloth.

Remove shade cloth after your seedlings reach the first leaf stage (see pages 16 and 17 of the Propagation Instructions Booklet).

Place any transplanted seedlings under 50% shade cloth for one week.

Propagation information and grower tips

One of the planting sites on the boundary of the �yponga �eservoir Wateron the boundary of the �yponga �eservoir Water �eserve.

If you’re ready to transplant some seedlings, make sure you carefully read pages 20 and 21 of your Propagation Instructions Booklet.

Corey’s role to help growers

Corey Jackson has been appointed to the new role of

Volunteer Grower Coordinator.Corey will provide

volunteer growers in the Tree Scheme with more support, with the aim of increasing propagation success.

Corey said Trees For Life wanted to be able to help more volunteer growers, deliver more volunteer training and further develop the overall program.

“As a result, we will be able to provide landholders and projects with more healthy plants, increasing the success of revegetation programs throughout South Australia,” Corey said.

If you need propagation or growing advice please call the Trees For Life office on 8406 0500 and speak to Corey.

Commonly grown species

Melaleuca spp. should now be at the 2-4 leaf stage.

These species benefit from a one-off application of liquid fertilizer such as Maxicrop, Thrive or Aquasol at the recommended dose on the packet during January/February.

The Melaleuca seedling pictured below has had a liquid fertiliser application at the 2-4 leaf stage.

Hello my name is Jaya Shevlin and recently I have joined

the Trees For Life organisation.It started off from my

dad showing me a young person propagating for Trees For Life. I reflected and thought that it was a great opportunity to give something back to our environment.

I am very passionate about the environment and the well-being of animals, and truly believe we all are responsible for looking after our earth and environment for the future generations.

I told my dad I was interested in joining and that I would learn and have fun by being a part of the organisation. My dad told me that I had to call the organisation myself and this step was one of the hardest steps I had taken in this process - it took me a lot of courage. Finally, when I had the courage I dialed the number and asked for some information. The next day I received a letter from Trees For Life with a lot of forms. I discussed this with my mum and dad they helped me to fill the forms out and before I knew it my forms were in.

Unfortunately the morning of the collection of the kit I had sports practice so my parents collected the kit for me. They met a man called Corey Jackson who had recently started working for Trees For Life. My parents told him how I want to go to Urrbrae Agricultural High School and my interest in the environment and animals and when talking, discovered

that he went to Urrbrae. When my parents told me this I was very excited that Corey was working for Trees For Life because my dream is to go to Urrbrae and to eventually work for an organisation that helps the environment and animals.

When mum and dad showed me the kit from Trees For Life, we started work filling the tubes right way. My mum, dad and sister Sian-Lee all helped. We worked in an assembly line; this got the job done faster than I thought. I believe my family enjoyed helping and it is a great way to be with your family and working with each other to achieve something great.

I am looking forward to the next step of growing the trees and being able to hand over six boxes of healthy trees. I would like to next year grow 10 boxes so I could meet a farmer and take the trees to the property.

Anyway happy growing!

Young Jaya grows to help environment

11-year-old Jaya Shevlin is one of Trees For Life’s youngest volunteer growers. Her passion for the environment and native animals this year led her to contact us and offer her help as a first-time grower. We hope she will be the first of many! This is her story ...

We want to hear from more volunteers!

At Trees For Life we are interested in how our

volunteer growers are going during the growing season.

We would like to see photos of your seedlings, growing benches and hear your growing story.

Please email or post your photos and stories to Trees For Life.

Do you have your water permit? Thanks to SA Water, Trees For Life members growing in the Tree Scheme are eligible for a permit allowing the use of hand-held hoses fitted with a trigger nozzle to water their seedlings when required on any day.

If you have not received your water permit, please contact us on 8406 0500.

Your story

New volunteer grower, Jaya, left, gets her family involved in the propagation process.

Who ya’ gonna call? The Tree Scheme’s support team

What’s going on in the plant nursery?

This season we will be growing around 1200 boxes or 60,000

seedlings for projects such as Urban Forest Million Trees, Carbon Neutral, councils, Monarto Zoo, Upper Wakefield NRM Board, Foodland and 16 direct seeding sites.

Willing helpers for hard work

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped with boxing up

and distributing over 16,000 boxes of potting mix to grow over 840,000 plants for landholders, projects and for back up.

It’s always a big task, but made so much easier due to the valuable help you give us.

All welcome to our Open Day

An Open Day will be held at the Betty Westwood Nursery (cnr Sir

Donald Bradman Drive and May Tce, Brooklyn Park) on Wednesday, February 11 between 3-7pm.

All volunteer growers and landholders growing for themselves are invited to come along. The event is to not only thank you, our valuable growers, but to provide an opportunity for discussion should you need help. Volunteer growers can bring in seedling samples for feedback and advice on plant health. Nursery staff will also conduct transplanting demonstrations and guided tours of the plant nursery will be conducted on the hour.

A complimentary sausage sizzle will also be provided during the event.

Parking is available in May Terrace and all those interested in attending are asked to please register by phoning the office.

So come along and meet the team!

The Tree Scheme team is, from left, Nursery Assistant John Sharp, Volunteer Grower Coordinator Corey Jackson, Tree Scheme Manager Maureen Redfern, Seedbank Manager Bruce Smith and Tree Scheme Officer Graham Greaves.

Hard working volunteers prepare for distribution day, boxing up soil at a local depot.

Nursery Assistant John Sharp busy caring for some seedlings.