15,000 native seedlings planted across the City of Marion

Around 15,000 native seedlings and trees have been planted in council-managed public spaces across the City of Marion in the past year, including nearly 8,000 planted by volunteers.

The planting program is part of the Council’s commitment to protecting and improving the biodiversity in the community.

Feedback from volunteers and residents suggests the work is paying dividends with bird life and other wildlife sightings increasing in the revegetated areas.

In addition to the work on council land, the City of Marion has given around 1,000 native plants to residents, free of charge, to plant in their own gardens as part of its Gazania Free Gardens program.

Gazanias are a declared weed. The Gazania Free Gardens program aims to encourage residents to replace gazanias in their properties with native species.

Other revegetation highlights in the past year include:

• Tree Day @ Marion to mark National Tree Day on 31 July. The City of Marion and Friends of Sturt River Landcare hosted a community planting event at the Oaklands Wetland and Reserve with more than 200 volunteers planting indigenous shrubs, grasses, and trees.
• A ceremonial planting of an advance eucalyptus tree at Nari Reserve at Sheidow Park on September 2 to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and a revegetation project in this popular recreation area. As part of the Australian Government Planting Trees for The Queen’s Jubilee Program, more than 700 locally sourced Eucalyptus seedlings will be planted in Nari Reserve in autumn 2023 comprising of 400 Eucalyptus microcarpa (Grey Box) and 300 Eucalyptus leucoxylon ssp. leucoxylon (South Australian Blue Gum).
• The planting of around 600 trees and seedlings at Nari Reserve in autumn 2022 by volunteers to support the endangered Grey Box Woodland and to provide habitat for declining woodland bird species. This work is in addition to the Queen’s Jubilee Program.

• The Friends of Upper Field River enlarging their project area with an additional 300 seedlings planted in June, with particular attention given to plants that support birds and butterflies.
• The Friends of the Warriparinga continuing their great work maintaining and revegetating the last natural section of the Sturt River on the Adelaide Plains with volunteer work sessions held throughout June and July.
  
• The Friends of Lower Field River planting over 300 local native species in August to restore the River Red Gum Open Woodland and provide important habitat for woodland, wetland, and coastal birds in the Lower Field River area.

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