Shady Characters
Maitland is hot. Literally and figuratively.
Yet more and more trees are being cut down in town. And none are being replanted ... Reducing our already low canopy coverage.
If we want shade, we have to create it by taking action now.
We don't have time to wait for someone else to do it for us. We don't have time to put in requests and wait years for a plan.
The Shady Characters are planting trees on spots that are screaming for some coolness, some decoration and attraction. Planting trees is a cheap, simple and fast way of beautifying an area and make it attractive to walk, cycle, shop or park your car.
We only plant native trees that suit the area and enhance the presence of native wildlife.
On 13 October the first 3 trees have been planted in High Street. We have chosen this spot because it has been sitting empty for over 20 years. The trees are native Cupaniopsis anacardioides (Tuckeroos). As soon as a new support box is assembled, we will plant more of these trees along the same footpath. The support boxes are made from free pallet wood.
To start with this project, we have bought 11 small Tuckeroos at 'Heritage gardens nursery out of our own pocket.
The small Tuckeroos are $ 22
There were larger size available of $ 60
Another size up is $ 130
And the biggest one is $400
We also bought bags of hydrogels, fertilizer and compost as a starter for the young trees.
Plus a dozen of mini-Tuckeroos of 10/15 cm. These can be fun to pick up for $5 and keep them in a pot for a year before choosing a 'spot in the wild'.
People have asked us how they could help us, or how they could donate. I thought the most transparent way was to open a GoFundMe page. You can see what is coming in and I will keep you up to date of what we buy.
Your donation would be awesome and will help us to make this project unstoppable. I will do a shout out on Facebook and Instagram (unless you want me to keep you in the shade ;)
