Community helping a 1000 year old!
A big old tree got a big old drink. 'Eagle Tree' is a River Red Gum that is about 1,000 years old, stands 50 metres tall, lives in Gunbower Forest in Victoria (Australia's second largest River Red Gum community) and has just received a much needed drink.
Eagle Tree before watering.
Photo: Melanie Tranter |
Eagle Tree got its name from all the eagles that have spent time living in this tree over many years, from Sea Eagles to Wedge-tailed Eagles. Eagles need tall trees like this one because they like to perch in the high branches of such old trees.
As you can see in the photo (taken before it was watered), the canopy (top branches and leaves) of this old tree is thin and there aren't many leaves growing. However, after receiving 120,000 litres of water, it is looking much healthier, with new shoots springing out at the top.
The water was kindly donated by a local landholder, Paul Haw, who generously offered to help this thirsty, iconic tree. The watering process was organised and delivered by the North-Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and will continue into the autumn months. This is the only water that will make it to Gunbower Forest this season, and it was no ordinary watering process.
Many local residents were involved in the process, from supplying materials and equipment, to helping out at the site. The local milk cooperative supplied a milk tanker to deliver the water to the site, while nine volunteers from the Kerang unit of the State Emergency Services were involved in stacking sandbags around the base of the tree to prepare it for the watering.
The North-Central CMA believed it was important that this was a community-driven project, and it certainly was just that. As Melanie Tranter, North-Central CMA's Gunbower Forest Project Manager, describes, |
"It's fantastic to see it all coming together. The willingness of everyone to help get this project off the ground is a wonderful example of community partnerships delivering real on-ground outcomes that benefit the forest and those that use it".
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SES volunteers sandbagging Eagle Tree in preparation for its watering.
Photo: Paul Haw |
As the health of many of the Basin's River Red Gums has been declining, due to extremely dry conditions and old age, there are now so few of these big old trees left alive. The plight of these trees is what inspired the landholder to donate water to Eagle Tree and it is hoped that this generous donation of water and community activity will raise awareness of these forests, and the benefits of donating water.
ABC radio interview about Eagle Tree (Flash, 797kb)
For more information go www.nccma.vic.gov.au or contact Melanie Tranter at melanie.tranter@nccma.gov.vic.au
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