Silver Valley tree Planting project!

On 8th of Feb, a group of awesome earth carers got their hands, hearts and minds into this tree planting project headed by Jay from Organic Motion. In response to the raging fires happening in southern parts of Australia, they planted out fruit and native trees and began the build of a shade tunnel to nurse more plants for future projects. Although FNQ was not directly impacted by the fires, this crew was involved in community connecting around revegetation of local lands which does have an impact in more than one way. This blog is an interview with Jay so read on to find out about the project, the Earth Care Collective and carbon sequestration through community tree planting + more...

Welcome Jay Jackson, thank you for joining me.

Kaylie: A tribe of enthusiastic volunteers, myself included, participated in a community planting funded by Organic Motion in aid of Earth Care Collective engagement last weekend.

Can you tell me a little bit about what Organic Motion does, your role in the company and how Organic Motion engages with Earth Care Collective ?

Jay: Organic Motion is a social enterprise, we offer edible landscape designs, installations and maintenance. We also donate a portion of our profits to charity. We love and support Earth Care collective. As a project manager for Organic Motion, part of my role is to discern how we can direct those funds into meaningful community events that have a social impact. 

Kaylie: Fantastic, could you tell us more about edible landscaping?

Jay: So we cover all aspects of landscaping from balcony to broad acre. But, what makes us special is our niche in sustainability. We are about helping people connect with their food and nature on their own property through growing fruit trees and veggie gardens. So not only do we do landscaping architecture and design but we also help people adjust their lifestyle to live more self sufficiently.

Kaylie: What is the Earth Care Collective and how do they work with Organic Motion to engage our local community?

Jay: Earth Care Collective is a non-profit organisation that operates to bring skills for sustainability to communities. Bringing back learning and connections to the earth through sustainable farming and engaging community through earth conscious activities and events. 

Wonderful, like the planting we did last weekend. What was the planting in aid of? What were the objectives going in? 

Jay: The objective was to gather together with members of Far North Queensland community, and offer some support to a local community property, at silver Valley. Our goal was to plant out 30 fruit trees, install irrigation and erect some structures for frost resilience. Another important aim was a shared lunch, connecting the people, gaining more interest and support for Earth Care Collective projects.

Kaylie: Nice, so what kind of impact does planting trees locally have on our global environmental crises? 

Jay: Good question, so trees naturally sequester carbon, which means they take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and as their roots grow they build up soil carbon. So where ever it is in the world that we’re planting trees, effectively we can assist in decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere which has been shown by the scientific method to be a contributing factor to global warming and climate change. By thinking globally and acting locally I believe that a small group of people can make change. It also raises awareness and offers practical solutions for people both physically and emotionally. What’s really interesting is the level of anxiety for worry or concern that a lot of people are facing because of the increasing occurrence of natural disasters, which has been attributed to climate change. So not only are there these physical disasters happening, threatening people's physical wellbeing but people are actually experiencing emotional disturbances in relating to these environmental shifts. Whether it is having a direct effect on their experience or that of their loved ones, or the widespread feeling of helplessness and fear about what the future holds, not only for them but their children. So, when offering events like this, one of the primary outcomes is a social cohesion and networking opportunity for like minded people to connect in taking action thereby reducing those fears.

Kaylie: Wow, quite the holistic undertaking. So how did the idea for the planting at Silver Valley come about?

Jay: I often run projects that involve tree planting, in particular I was engaged in a project in the area, planting 5000 trees specifically to offset carbon emissions, that allowed an opportunity for connection with the community up there. The owner of the property that we were working on in Silver Valley has also run many different community events and gatherings around sustainability on the property in the past, some of which I have attended. So while I was up there for work we decided it was a perfect opportunity to collaborate to increase awareness around how people can influence change in their environment. 

Kaylie: Great idea, who were the volunteers that participated and how were they rallied?

Jay: Well, volunteers were mainly members of the local community, but they also came from as far as Cairns to participate. Social media and word of mouth rallied 20 some volunteers.

Kaylie: Will there be future plantings people can get involved in?

Jay: Yes, absolutely, and all kinds of other events and activities. Just head over to the Organic Motion and Earth Care Collective websites and sign up to keep up to date with all the latest happenings.

Kaylie: Thank you so much Jay, it has been an absolute pleasure talking to you today, as always, and I look forward to working with you again next time.

Jay: Yeah, Cheers, thanks for that Kaylie, see you next time. 
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Author

Kaylie Jenkins is the secretary of ECC and professional blog writer. She works closely with Organic Motion on the ground and in the studio as a super support women and lover of the earth!

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