November 7, 2011. Cricketing star Glenn McGrath planted the final two of sixty-eight Bunya trees at the National Arboretum which will be protected by pink tree guards that raise money for the McGrath Foundation breast cancer nurses. (AAP/Grace Keyworth) In order of appearance: Beverly Hand- Bunya Dreaming Festival organiser; Matt Kilby- Trees For Earth; Glenn McGrath- McGrath Foundation Chairman.
Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath receiving a donation to the McGrath Foundation from Matt Kilby
from Trees For Earth at the National Arboretum Canberra this morning.
ACT Minister for Women Joy Burch today joined Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath, Matt Kilby from Trees For Earth (GLR), Aboriginal Elders Beverly Hand and Agnes Shea and breast care nurse Kerryn Ernst, in planting two Bunya trees at the National Arboretum.
“The planting of these trees marks the creation of Plant Pink Friendship, a partnership between the McGrath Foundation and Trees For Earth which will raise funds for specialist breast cancer nurses to support women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer,” Ms Burch said.
GLR is a Bungendore based company whose products include pink tree guards which feature the McGrath Foundation logo and GLR will be donating funds from the sale of the tree guards to the McGrath Foundation.
“Most of us know someone who has been diagnosed with this disease and the partnership between the McGrath Foundation and GLR is a great initiative aimed at increasing the level of support for these women by providing more specialty nurses.
“The two Bunya trees planted here today represent the last two breast care nurses placed around Australia.”
The funds that will be raised by the contributions being made by GLR will go directly to funding even more nurses.
The cheque that was presented today to Glenn McGrath by Matt Kilby from GLR will be a great boost to the work of the McGrath Foundation.
“I congratulate Matt for making a real practical difference for woman and their families at this time of great need and I encourage other companies to consider how they may assist the McGrath Foundation in their work,” Ms Burch said.
http://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/
Published: http://www.capitalmagazine.com.au/DC/DailyCAPITAL.htm
GOVERNMENT, GLOBAL LAND REPAIR AND NATIONAL ARBORETUM CANBERRA DIG DEEP TO LAY FOUNDATION AND PLANT 68 PINK-GUARDED TREES TO REPRESENT MCGRATH BREAST CARE NURSES
McGrath Foundation Chairman and Co-Founder, Glenn McGrath, with Corporate Friend and Trees For Earth Founder, Matt Kilby.
Chairman and Co-Founder of the McGrath Foundation, Glenn McGrath was today joined by ACT Minister for Women, Joy Burch MLA, atthe National Arboretum Canberra for a special ceremony to plant the final two Australian Bunya pine trees in an area specially dedicated to the McGrath Foundation.
A total of 68 trees, each representing a funded McGrath Breast Care Nurse position, have been planted in the Arboretum donning Plant Pink hot pink tree guards. Collectively, the McGrath Breast Care Nurses have helped support more than 10,000 Australian families through a breast cancer experience in the past three years. Of the 68 McGrath Breast Care Nurses positions in Australia, 44 are funded thanks to a $12 million grant from the Federal Government in June 2008.
Chairman and Co-Founder of the McGrath Foundation, Glenn McGrath, believes the special event was a unique way to bring to life how the McGrath Foundation’s generous Corporate Friendships and ongoing support from the Federal Government will enable the Foundation to grow and support the next 10,000 Australian families.
“These pink-guarded McGrath Foundation trees make up our Foundation family tree, a visual representation of the role our McGrath Breast Care Nurses play in the community, and one we couldn’t be more proud of.
“Without the support of the Federal Government, our generous Corporate Friends and of course the Australian public, we couldn’t do what we do, so this is a fitting tribute to everyone who has contributed to our success in supporting Australian families through a breast cancer experience,” Mr McGrath said.
The ceremonial tree-planting is a testament to the friendship between the McGrath Foundation and Trees For Earth, makers of the tree guards, and also the Federal Government.
ACT Minister for Women, Joy Burch MLA, was happy to be on hand today to help plant the last Bunya pine tree in the McGrath Foundation plot.
“I’m proud to be here today to celebrate the work of the McGrath Foundation and their network of McGrath Breast Care Nurses. The work they do in the community is so important and we’re proud to be helping support Australian families, particularly those in rural and regional areas, by providing them access to this free service.”
Long-term Corporate Friend of the McGrath Foundation, Trees For Earth, has been working with the National Arboretum Canberra to rejuvenate the 250 hectare space through its 100 Forests, 100 Gardens project and presented a $7,500 cheque to the Foundation today to help fund additional McGrath Breast Care Nurses in the community.
Trees For Earth Founder, Matt Kilby, was pleased the friendship with the McGrath Foundation speaks to the wider Australian community.
“The majestic dome-shaped Bunya pine is the logo for Trees For Earth because the native Australian food tree symbolises the Australian spirit of perseverance and rejuvenation. Thanks to our friends at the McGrath Foundation and the National Arboretum Canberra, we’ve been able to come together and spread a message hope and resilience.”
ABOUT THE MCGRATH FOUNDATION
The McGrath Foundation was co-founded by Jane and Glenn McGrath after Jane’s initial recovery from breast cancer. The McGrath Foundation raises money to fund McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities right across Australia and to increase breast awareness in young women. To find out more about the McGrath Foundation and how you can make a difference, please visit www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au.
ABOUT GLOBAL LAND REPAIR
To find out more about Trees For Earth, please visit www.treesforearth.com.au.
Emma Field | November 2, 2011
Article from: Weekly Times
Down to business: Matt Kilby demonstrates his tree-planting technique on the McGauran family farm.
WHEN Matt Kilby first saw the McGauran family’s property, near Sale, he saw a lot of work ahead.
But 11 months later, the old bull paddock on the farm near Nambrok has been transformed.
There are 2km of contours, a dam wall covered in bamboo and 1700 trees all protected with guards.
Matt’s company Trees For Earth was enlisted by the McGauran family last year to run a 40ha demonstration site on their 1200ha cattle property to improve fertility and plant trees.
He said the farm was typical of the farming that had gone on for the past 150 years in Australia.
“It has been over-farmed,” Matt told a recent field day on the property.
He said the family – Alexa, John, Peter, Julian, Rachel and Daria – asked for a plan for one paddock as a demonstration of what could be done and for others to be able check the progress.
Permaculture principles were used by site project manager Nick Huggins.
There are six stages aimed at bringing water back into the paddock using swales, or water harvesting ditches, built on contour banks planted with trees.
Nick’s design addressed the problems of compaction, harsh summer and winter winds plus irregular rainfall on the East Gippsland property, which also suffered from 12 years of drought.
In January, the contours were deep ripped using a Yeomans plough and 600 trees were planted in a shelter belt.
Nick tested compaction levels and the first rip had a penetrometer reading of 200mm and the second six months later went to 400mm.
Contour lines were installed to be formed into swales, a key element of the site.
There are eight swales in the paddock varying in length from 100m to 800m, 2.2km in total.
“The swales are tree planting lines – you can’t have successful tree establishment unless you give them a watering system,” Matt said.
He said the swales were designed to capture water and move it across the farm from the hills to the pastures.
The swales were mulched using hay and planted with cover crops such as barley grass and oats to hold the banks together and encourage moisture retention.
Last month, 840 trees were planted on the swales including oaks, acacias, melaleucas and shrubs.
Nick said the tree plantings were not exclusively native.
The first plantings of “pioneer” trees on the swales would be followed by trees such as oaks, hazelnuts and chestnuts, which could also offer an alternative income and more importantly build and retain soil fertility.
“We start with fast nitrogen fixing trees and then try to create a forest canopy, so after three to four years start planting out our successional plants,” Nick said.
Matt claims to have a 95 per cent tree planting success rate from a system he has developed.
This includes preparing the hole with rock dust to stimulate microbes and root growth and protecting them with a pink tree guards.
He said the pink tree guards were developed in Israel and they stimulated photosynthesis by allowing the plant to absorb more red light.
The tree planting process also included a weed mat made of recycled paper, mulch on top and watering with a special mix of sea minerals and tonics.
The wall of the dam in the paddock had remedial work done to fix erosion and was mulched and planted with cover crops and bamboo, plants with fibrous root systems that wouldn’t damage the dam wall and which would provide future stock feed.
Nick said the mulch helped to hold the dam wall together and stopped leaching.
“We have seen the water clean up over the past eight months,” he said.
The final stages of the project, designed to run for two to three years, will see compost tea fertiliser spread across the whole site and the swales fenced to allow livestock back on the paddock.
“We will be back in April and I am hoping to get 300 cattle grazed on a timed basis using temporary fencing,” Nick said.
Matt said the McGauran farm was the first he had worked on in Victoria. “After many years of farming the landscape won’t be repaired quickly,” he said.
PDF version here.
Read at Weekly Times http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2011/11/02/400711_on-farm.html
