above and below – Hop to it: Local school children planting a section of the 250-metre-long treefrog that can be seen from the air near Armidale.
A GIANT frog took over the landscape near Kentucky for the Children of Treefest event, which celebrated 20 years since the original Treefest.
Children of Treefest was organised by Katherine and Michael Taylor, in conjunction with the Frog Dreaming primary school workshop.
One hundred primary school children from eight schools planted 3000 trees of 200-plus varieties in the shape of a giant 250-metre tree frog, that will be able to be seen from the air on the Sydney to Armidale flight path.
The students camped at the site overnight doing workshops about revegetation and water care and finished with a bonfire, before they were all up early the next day to begin the planting.
“Although such a design is not practical, it shows that diverse forests and engineered woodlands can be designed to suit the landscape and land use practices,” Mrs Taylor said.
At the original Treefest in 1992 more than 6000 people attended to hear 90 exhibitors and 17 speakers address the problem of dieback and tree sustainability.
It was the brainchild of Jon and Vicki Taylor, who held it on their property, The Hill.
This year it is their children, Katherine and Michael, who organised the event.
They said it was an opportunity for anyone interested to revisit the site 20 years on, as the issues of regeneration and dieback were just as important today as they were back then.
An original maze from the first event was reassembled using artwork from local artists, including Angus Nivison, as well as an abstract sculpture from guest speaker, David Curtis, that resembled a tepee made of saplings he said “symbolised the regeneration and social aspects of the ecosystem.”
The Hill, which was once barren and windy, now has more than 200,000 trees on it.
“It is great to see what engineered revegetation can achieve over a period of time, and to share that important knowledge with the students and the community,” Mrs Taylor said.
