There is a day for absolutely anything you may think and yes, naming a national day for a cause is a frequently employed marketing strategy. Why? Because it can be a very effective to raise awareness – hopefully it will work for the National Eucalypt Day as well!

Ghost Gum a painting by Albert Namatjira

The National Eucalypt Day is an initiative of the Bjarne K Dahl Trust. It aims to raise awareness of the iconic gum tree and celebrate the important place they hold in the hearts and lives of Australians.

Eucalypts are the epitome of the Australian landscape:

Eucalypts, commonly known as gum trees, form an integral part of the Australian identity with the bush. From the children’s song Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree through to the distinctive smell of eucalypts to iconic paintings and photographs, eucalypts are an essential part of Australian culture, featuring in art, music and literature. Quoted from http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/eucalypts

 

Koala and Gum Tree

The gum tree is essential for the Australian landscape and for many animals – including the equally iconic Koala. We need to preserve eucalypts and there was a symposium about this very issue, read more here: http://www.eucalyptaustralia.org.au/conserving-eucalypts-symposium

The Australian Koala Foundation has released a tree planting list – of course, to be useful for Koalas, trees have to be planted in groups and need to be connected to other Koala habitat.

Let’s celebrate the Australian gum tree today and ensure they are here for future generations.

Further information:

Eucalypt Australia is a grant making Charitable Trust that focuses on eucalypts – a significant aspect of Australia’s natural environment and biodiversity. The Trust would like to inspire the public to appreciate eucalypts.  It used to operated under the name of Bjarne K Dahl Trust as it was set up by his estate.