Today on National Tree Day, I’m pleased to invite community groups, organisations and individuals around the country to start their own tree planting projects by applying for grants under Round Two of the 20 Million Trees Programme.
The 20 Million Trees Programme is an Australian Government commitment to invest $50 million over four years to plant 20 million trees by 2020.
Funding of up to $5 million is now available under the second round of the programme with grants between $20,000 and $100,000 available for projects which will re-establish native vegetation, provide habitat to support threatened species and to improve the local environment.
Priority will be given to projects which support the Australian Government’s commitment to improve outcomes for threatened species and support the work of the Threatened Species Commissioner.
The application process has been simplified, allowing applicants to apply for Green Army and 20 Million Trees projects at the same time.
Round One of the programme has already helped Landcare groups and communities across Australia commit to planting more than one million trees.
It’s great hearing the positive stories from people about how these trees are going to improve their local environment and provide natural spaces for everyone to enjoy.
As well as the grants, the Australian Government has engaged three service providers for the 20 Million Trees Programme—CO2 Australia, Greening Australia and Landcare Australia—to deliver large-scale tree planting projects across Australia, with over 6.7 million trees already agreed.
It’s fantastic to see the number of trees starting to grow towards the 20 million trees target.
The Round Two Grant Guidelines will be available from Monday 27 July 2015, and applications close on 16 September 2015.
More information about the 20 Million Trees programme is available at www.nrm.gov.au/20-million-trees
(ENDS)