We are excited that our collective efforts in planting over 30,000 seedlings this winter will contribute towards global efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Not only will these plants remove carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, they will also store carbon and release oxygen into the atmosphere. They will offer cooling shade, block cold winter winds, provide habitat birds and wildlife, purify our air, prevent soil erosion, clean our water, and add amenity to our growing communities.
As well as doing our best to mitigate, Parklands are also acting to help nature to adapt to climate change. Harking back to our ‘Planting in a Warming World’ forum in 2019, where we learned that Albury Wodonga can expect our climate to be more like that of Forbes in NSW in future, we have this year sourced seedling stock provenanced from hotter, drier areas.
The aim is to retain our iconic local eucalypt species like red and yellow Box, but translocate provenances that already thrive in tougher climes. These are provenances that would normally move very slowly indeed across the landscape, too slowly for the speed at which our climate is changing. These seedlings will grow, mature and cross-pollinate with our existing local stock, building resilience in local plant communities.
Parklands are grateful that our climate adapted planting program has been supported through funding from the Australian Government’s Murray–Darling Healthy Rivers Program, and the Victorian Government’s Landcare program.