Plant a tree or shrub at your home, business or school - it's as easy as one, two, tree!
On Earth Day 2024, we launched a brand new partnership to encourage the community to get outdoors in the cooler months and plant a tree - lets plant One Tree Per Child in Onkaparinga.
Urban heat and canopy mapping shows that we have areas across our region that contain little natural shade for cooling or habitat for native critters. With a massive 74 per cent of Onkaparinga being privately owned land (that council has no control over), you can see why it's so important that we all get planting!
We’re thrilled to be the first SA council to partner with One Tree Per Child, Green Adelaide, Arborgreen, and Trees For Life in order to bring this canopy program to our community.
One Tree Per Child, a not-for-profit founded by Olivia Newton-John and Jon Dee, aims to inspire every child to plant at least one tree before they finish school. They've already made a big impact, with hundreds of thousands of trees planted across 10 countries!
Each year we'll hold a community tree giveaway event where residents can pick up a free tree or shrub for home. The 2024 event was held on 2 June at Seaford Community Centre with over 1000 trees provided to residents.
If you missed out don't panic - you can still check out the information provided below to help choose the best tree for your garden and view the video for tips on how to plant it for success!
After planting, be sure to snap a photo and mark your spot on our interactive map so that we can watch the region grow greener together!
Aim for diversity. The more different size and type of trees and shrubs you plant the better. Nature thrives on diversity and diverse gardens are happy gardens.
Local native trees and shrubs are a great low maintenance option for your garden. Adelaide’s native trees have adapted to survive our hot summers and wet winters – and generally need minimal TLC.
Adelaide’s local natives are Australian trees that are native to this area. They are native trees suitable for and found in Adelaide’s environment. If you’re thinking a different species – originating elsewhere in Australia, or overseas – just make sure they aren’t considered a weed in South Australia.
Check out SA’s declared pest plants, and get to know our emerging weeds by looking at the ‘what not to plant' sections of the Green Adelaide coastal and Adelaide gardens planting guides.
Declared and environmental weeds pose a major threat to the health of our natural environment. You can also use the Plant Selector+ tool to help your choose the right trees and shrubs for the right places in your school or yard.
For ideas of small, medium and large tree species you can discover a few species here. You'll see some of the same species in the trees that we plant in your streetscapes and reserves.
Find out what to plant to create habitat for this years focus native animal, the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo here.
Help your new tree start it's life right and give it the best chance of survival by following these easy steps.....
You can visit your local gardening shop for a browse of different trees species.
For local native trees and shrubs, the best bet is to visit a native plant grower/nursery.
Early learning centres and schools located within City of Onkaparinga can apply annually for free trees and shrubs but first need to be part of Green Adelaide's Sustainable Schools program.
The Green Adelaide southern education team, hosted within Council, can provide expert species advice, help with your planting event and a combined education offering that is linked to the curriculum and EYLF for the very best student outcomes.
If you're not already part of the program, it's easy to join! Click here to find out more and then reach out to Rob Wallace, southern team coordinator via rob.wallace@onkaparinga.sa.gov.au or 0418 151 300.
In 2024, the team helped fourteen lucky local schools to plant 520 trees and shrubs in their school grounds. Many schools chose for their younger students to take part, enabling them to watch their planted tree grow over their time at the school. Creating a legacy in nature is special and vitally important - as confirmed when we overheard two of the students chatting whilst planting - “I haven’t done this before. It’s fun. In 10 years time I’m going to come back and check on my tree”. Heartwarming!
The council is taking action to address the threat to Onkaparinga's tree canopy, particularly on private land, which makes up 74 per cent of our region. We're encouraging the community to plant trees on their own land to complement the council’s goal of planting 100,000 trees on public land by 2037.
Each year we’ll have a different theme. In 2024, we focused on the importance of providing habitat for the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo, a vulnerable species identified in the Ecological Linkage Study.
South Australia has some great areas of natural bush which are home to our own unique plants and animals. But as our cities have grown, these spaces are increasingly being developed, reducing vegetation cover and pushing our wildlife into smaller areas.
Key areas of protected vegetation are fragmented and often cut off from one another. Private landholders including home gardens and schools can help to expand these areas by planting local native plants which serve as stepping stones within the landscape and contribute to much-needed habitat.
It’s important to note that revegetation and habitat creation are not only available to those who own or manage large areas of land which can sometimes be a misconception. Home gardens, schools and community spaces can all contribute to creating habitat, improving biodiversity and supporting wildlife individually and by connecting to larger habitat corridors already established across the landscape.
Creating and contributing to habitat corridors supports the movement of species to access resources and contributes to the resilience of the landscape. You don’t need a big area to make an impact locally, you can plant one or two local native tree(s) in your garden along with some good native understory shrubs, grasses and ground cover species which can all help provide food and shelter to wildlife and contribute to the overall revegetation of your local area.
While having protected and well-managed larger areas of habitat is critical, there is no need to rely solely on existing protected areas or to leave it to landholders with larger properties to safeguard our biodiversity. We can all play a part.
When multiple home gardens on a street make this commitment, they create a larger connected area between themselves. When schools approach their landscaping with habitat in mind, land that is typically under-utilised becomes full of life. In both cases, families and students learn the value of our local native plants and wildlife, of tending to something with care and patience and the importance of diversity in sustaining a balanced environment.
Imagine the impact if every home, school and community/ public space was thriving with a diverse range of native species. What would it mean for our local wildlife, for our environment and for ourselves.
Our partners are key to ensuring the success of One Tree Per Child Onkaparinga. Find out a little about each of the partner organisations below.
ONE TREE PER CHILD
One Tree Per Child wants every child to plant a tree. One Tree Per Child was founded by Olivia Newton-John and Jon Dee. It’s a not-for-profit Australian initiative that’s planted trees in 10 countries. High profile ambassadors and supporters for One Tree Per Child have included Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs, Costa Georgiadis and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage.
TREES FOR LIFE
Trees For Life is one of South Australia’s oldest and most loved not-for-profit environmental organisations. Every year they train and work with thousands of dedicated volunteers, along with their project staff, to deliver on-ground conservation and revegetation programs across South Australia.
ARBORGREEN
Arborgreen is an Australian, family-owned and run business. They sell products and materials for tree establishment and care. If the right product doesn’t exist, they will invent it! They are passionate about educating our youth in working towards a greener future.
GREEN ADELAIDE
Green Adelaide are South Australia's first government urban environmental organisation. Their work is unique as it delivers environmental outcomes amidst urbanisation, and embeds Kaurna traditional practices in delivery. Their area of responsibility spans across Adelaide’s 17 metropolitan councils and includes about a third of Gulf St Vincent.
Green Adelaide's southern education team are hosted within the City of Onkaparinga's Environmental Sustainability team.
After planting, be sure to snap a photo and mark your spot on our interactive map so that we can watch the region grow greener together!
Add your tree now
Keep up to date
For the most up to date information on this project follow Sustainable Onkaparinga on Facebook or keep an eye on our website and publications.
To speak to someone about One Tree Per Child Onkaparinga contact Tracy Fulton, Sustainability Education Coordinator via email or 8384 0666.