**Toyota Australia and its dealer network are supporting Planet Ark’s National Tree Day for the 23rd year**
** Calling on Australians to roll up their sleeves and add to the 26 million trees planted to date **
**Toyota Australia dealerships are holding various tree planting events across Australia**
Toyota Australia has reinforced its commitment to creating a more sustainable future by supporting Planet Ark School Arbor Day and National Arbor Day, encouraging all Australians to plant a tree to benefit the environment and of the future of the community.
Organized by Planet Ark in partnership with Toyota Australia, Schools Tree Day takes place on Friday 29th July and National Tree Day on Sunday 31st July with local dealerships across the country getting involved and helping local schools, councils and community groups with various planting activities.
Planting more trees is proven to help reduce the impact of CO2 emissions, with Planet Ark noting that a large, healthy tree can sequester up to 93 kg of CO2 per year.
Revegetation of environmental destruction is also vital and following the devastating bushfires in the summer of 2019/20, large tracts of native forest have been decimated with over 5.3 million hectares lost to causing fires in New South Wales alone.
Toyota Australia and its dealer network have now been a major sponsor of Planet Ark’s National Tree Day for 23 years, and Toyota Australia Marketing Director Vin Naidoo said the support highlights the importance a collective commitment to help rebuild our natural environment.
“If each person plants just one tree, we can really make a difference because over the past 26 years we have seen over 26 million trees planted by over five million volunteers,” said Mr. Naidoo.
“Not only is planting a tree positive for the environment, but being in nature is also beneficial for our mental health and well-being, so we encourage everyone to get involved and connect with nature when National Tree Day,” he said.
New research commissioned on behalf of Planet Ark by Pollinate as part of The Pulse survey, shows that eight in ten Australians agree planting trees is an important part of creating a more sustainable future. This reflects Australians’ understanding of their ability to make a difference through their own behaviour, with seven in ten agreeing that individual actions can have a positive impact on global environmental issues such as climate change.
“These results clearly show that Australians want to have a positive impact on the environment and one of the simplest things we can do to support nature is to plant a tree,” said the co-CEO of Planet Ark. , Rebecca Gilling.
For those unable to attend Planet Ark’s National Tree Day events this year, another way to give nature the helping hand it needs is by donating to The Seedling Bank – a program launched in 2019 that provides native seedlings to schools and community groups across Australia. .
More than 150 Toyota Australia dealers will be involved in National Tree Day in Schools and National Tree Day nationwide events, and Toyota dealerships will provide a variety of useful equipment for planting days, including items such as hats, gloves, tree guards, seedlings and vouchers. .
As well as supporting National Tree Day, Toyota Australia also contributed this year with its AFL-supported Footy Forest initiative. The company provides a native seedling to be planted for every run scored in rounds 17-19 of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership season. To further support the Footy Forest initiative, Toyota Australia will now double that donation which, with 4,488 points scored over the three rounds, will see the Footy Forest reach a total of 8,976 trees planted across the country.
Toyota dealership activity in Australia this year includes:
• Torque Toyota (QLD) will celebrate its 20th year of supporting Planet Ark’s National Tree Day and School Arbor Day by donating trees to various area schools and hosting a BBQ on Sunday July 31 with Morton Bay Council
• Hayes Toyota (NSW) will donate tree planting materials and National Arbor Day merchandise to St Joseph’s School in Murwillumbah, which has been badly affected by recent flooding.
• Bendigo Toyota (VIC) will help both Golden Square Primary School and Eppalock Primary School to plant trees on Friday July 29 for school day on school grounds and in conjunction with a local conservation group lands.
• Adelaide Hills Toyota (SA) will be planting trees at Cornerstone College on Friday July 29 and offering hybrid breakout sessions with mixed grade levels.
• Co-Op Toyota (TAS) will give a $500 voucher to several area schools for their tree planting activities.
• Mandurah Toyota (WA) will provide National Arbor Day equipment to Falcon Primary School and North Mandurah Primary School for School Arbor Day and will host a hybrid display on a day local government planting on Sunday, July 31.
Toyota Ambassadors Adam Goodes, Guy Sebastian, Daisy Pearce, Katie Brennan, Jonathan Brown, Emma Vosti, Belle Brockhoff and brand friends Phoebe Burgess, Emma Hawkins, Abbey Holmes, Tom Derickx and Nathan McGuire also get their hands dirty by planting a tree seedling to encourage Australians to take part in this year’s Planet Ark National Tree Day.
To find a local planting event, visit: https://treeday.planetark.org/find-a-site/ or visit a local participating Toyota Australia dealership.
