The Holy Cross Helensburgh school community recently celebrated National Tree Day with a "Tree Liturgy" that included a presentation of a plant to each class and the office staff to look after until the tree is ready to be presented back to the Gardening Club to plant into the school grounds. 

The 30 plants presented were donated from the Wollongong Botanic Gardens. The prayer space was decorated with flowers and produce collected from the school gardens.

National Tree Day started in 1996 and has grown into Australia’s largest community tree-planting and nature care event. 

It’s a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to the community.

Each year over 3,000 schools across Australia participate in Schools Tree Day to plant seedlings and restore thousands of hectares of unique Australian landscape. Over 25 million trees have been planted by more than 4 million people, and this number continues to grow with the help of dedicated volunteers around the country.

In celebrating Schools and National Tree Day, the community of Holy Cross were reminded of our call to mission in the care of and for God’s creation. In Laudato Si' Pope Francis calls us to care for our common home.

In The Lorax by Dr Seuss the Lorax shared these powerful words with his community:

"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

So take a stand and support the well-being of the planet.

Get involved and encourage your community’s participation in growing your local green canopy.

We need your help to plant a million more. Let's create a greener Australia together, one tree at a time.