Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last Friday was National Schools Tree Day. National Tree Day commenced in 1996 and has grown into the largest community tree planting and nature care event in the country. Since commencement, five million Australians have planted 28 million trees and volunteered 10 million hours—incredible. Schools right across the country and my great electorate of Dunkley were celebrating by planting trees on their grounds and in reserves. I had the pleasure last Friday of visiting eight schools: Seaford Park Primary, Carrum Primary, Overport Primary, Kingsley Park Primary, Karingal Heights Primary, Woodleigh Senior Campus and Carrum Downs Secondary. While Frankston Environmental Friends Network ran their own tree planting session with Frankston Heights Primary School students, teachers and parents, Frankston city councillor Emily Green and I met at Wallace Reserve, where we helped volunteers, students and parents plant hundreds of shrubs with Frankston City Council rangers.

I give a shout-out to David Cross, Chair of the Frankston Environmental Friends Network: the work of your dedicated volunteers has helped create a beautiful section of bushland in the heart of Frankston with many gorgeous trees. I'd love to give another shout-out to Seaford Park Primary School, who established a nude food initiative to reduce the use of single-use packaging and rubbish in the school grounds. Every two weeks, the class with the least amount of plastic wrappers in their lunch boxes gets an extra 10 minutes of play time; doesn't that sound like fun? The school grounds have never been tidier. After a busy week in Canberra kicking off the 48th Parliament, it was wonderful meeting so many students who are passionate about the environment and preserving our community's beautiful landscapes. Your enthusiasm was contagious and made my day.

As an advocate for implementing sustainable practices in our homes and local communities, it was incredibly heartening to see schools doing their bit to help keep the environment clean. All the schools I visited on Friday had veggie gardens or other programs aiming to eliminate waste. I give a shout-out to the teachers and volunteers who make this all possible. Thank you to all those involved in making the day possible. I look forward to planting more trees and shrubs with you all in 2026 and hearing about your commitment to the environment. The Lorax would be proud.

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