Olivia gets physical about trees
By Terry Robson
Olivia Newton-John has occupied a special place in the hearts of Australians. She has charmed us with her singing and acting skills and now she is inspiring us with her dedication to the cause of the Environment.
In the decade since her appointment as a United Nations ambassador for the Environment, Olivia has become particularly convinced that trees have a special role to play in the health of the planet and its people. As a result she is taking a prominent role in Planet Ark’s National Tree Day, on 28th July 2002.
Planting The Future
Olivia certainly acts on her beliefs. She has planted over 10,000 trees in the last 10 years on her property in Byron Bay, NSW.
As the face of this year’s Tree Day, she is convinced that Australians will equal or even beat the record 1.2 million trees that were planted on last year’s day. “Everywhere I go. people are supporting the message that we need to plant more trees.” she says. “It’s time for all of us to green up Australia.”
It’s a message that’s not lost on Australia’s big businesses either. For the past 3 years, Toyota Australia has been Planet Ark’s National Tree Day partner, helping to organise the event in hundreds of communities around Australia. And this year, the AMP Foundation is also giving its support to promote the event.
Olivia’s passion for trees was sparked recently on a visit to the so-called Valley of the Giants in southern Tasmania. She went to the Styx River Valley to shoot footage for the National Tree Day TV ad that is being shown free of charge by Australia’s TV stations. Olivia was shocked by what she encountered. Amongst the old growth forest were trees up to five hundred years old standing some 100 metres tall. Sadly, she will be one of the last people to see these unique trees as many of them are scheduled for demolition and new plantation.
“Native trees play a vital role as habitat for Australia’s wildlife,” says Olivia.” Despite this, billions of trees have been chopped down over the past 200 years. That’s why it’s so important to preserve the forests that we have left and to plant as many native trees as we can.”
The Healing Power Of Trees
Beyond providing needed habitat, trees also have many healing qualities. Trees help to prevent soil erosion, salination and can prevent landslides. Water quality can also be improved by trees, which act as a filter to unwanted nutrients and pesticides. Trees also combat the greenhouse effect and slow the effects of global warming by soaking up carbon dioxide and exhaling oxygen for us to breathe.
Of course trees can provide food and medicine for human beings. We all know that Eucalyptus trees are Australia’s most common tree species. Their oils are used for insect repellents, chest rubs and cough drops. Beyond this we can learn a lot about the uses of our native trees from Australian Aborigines.
Native plants provided the Aborigines with fruit, vegetables, greens and seeds as well as materials for fuel and medicine. Here’s a quick look at some of their uses for Australian native plants:
Native mint was used to treat colds
Some varieties of gum sap were used on burns.
Juice from the root of the Hop Bush (Dodonara viscose) was used to treat toothaches and cuts.
Wattle seed was eaten as a source of protein and carbohydrate and wattle gum was used in some areas as an adhesive.
Getting Involved
The time to get involved in planting trees is now. Since European settlement, Australia’s forest cover has been reduced from 69 million hectares to 41 million hectares. Over the past 200 years we have lost about half of our rainforest and more than 30% of other forests and woodlands. We simply cannot delay taking action.
Olivia is particularly keen to involve children and schools in this year’s Tree Day event. “If we can get kids planting trees and learning about the environment, then hopefully they won’t make the same environmental mistakes that we as adults have often unwittingly made,” she said. Saving our trees though is some thing that people of all ages can join in.
National Tree Day
is organised by Planet Ark and Toyota in association with Conservation Volunteers Australia and the AMP Foundation. To find out how you can get involved on July 28, you can free-call the Planet Ark Conservation Volunteers helpline on 1800 303 232 or try the website at: www.planetark.org/trees/