Mayor Cameron McDonald was thrilled to see Kiama High School students continue the tradition of getting their hands dirty for the environment for National Tree Day.
Students at the school have been planting trees as part of National Tree Day for three decades and they were again out and about on Monday at six locations.
The students rolled up their sleeves for the environment at Loves Bay, Hyams Creek and Bombo Headland in conjunction with Kiama Municipal Council and Landcare Illawarra, and the school also planted trees at Curry's Mountain, Shoalhaven Heads and Minnamurra Rainforest.
The Year 7 students were separated into groups to attend all six sites in the morning before meeting up for a BBQ lunch at Kendalls Beach, supplied by Council, and enthusiastically cooked by members of Minnamurra Lions Club who volunteered their time.
Mayor McDonald and Kiama Member of Parliament Katelin McInerney spoke to the students and thanked them for their efforts.
The plant selection was curated by Landcare Illawarra with financial support from Council, utilising plants native to this area from local seeds, with around 200 installed at each of the three Council-affiliated sites.
Another 600 were planted at Shoalhaven Heads, 100 at Curry's Mountain and 40 at Minnamurra Rainforest, making it a grand total of 1340 new trees.
"It was refreshing to see so many kids out and about, doing their bit for the local environment," Mayor McDonald said.
"I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to Kiama High School teacher Paul Berry, who has been co-ordinating this program at the school for the past 30 years.
"During that time, many locations in our municipality have been significantly improved from the countless number of trees that have been planted on National Tree Day and our entire community owes Mr Berry and the school an enormous debt of gratitude."
