Last Friday, Ms. Deady led us, a bunch of super excited Year 6 students, on an amazing adventure to plant trees in an effort to conserve and regenerate our local reserve on Mount Ainslie. We geared up with hats and water bottles and hopped on a bus and headed over to our site selected by the local Rangers.

When we arrived, Janette from the Mount Ainslie Weeders - a local Landcare group - welcomed us with open arms and guided us up to our site. The Mount Ainslie Weeders and the Rangers gave us a detailed induction to the area and talked us through the tools we would be using. They also taught us the right way to plant seedlings, and shared with us the backstory about the site. 

We learned that Mt Ainslie is of great significance to the local Indigenous people. For them, Mount Ainslie has been a sacred women's site for a long time. We also learned that in the 1970’s the site that we would be regenerating was used to be a garbage dump for local Canberrans. It was eventually capped with clay which made it particularly difficult to regenerate. Over the last few decades the Mt Ainslie Weeders have been working hard to establish native plants and trees that attract pollinators and preserve the natural beauty of our local reserve. 

Our job was to plant three different types of native shrubs. We formed small groups, each working together to dig, plant, mulch and protect the natives. 

We also had morning tea with the Weeders and Rangers, which was a great opportunity to connect with the Weeders and Rangers and chat about what we had achieved. When we returned to school, we were treated to some delicious hot chocolate and biscuits. We can't thank the rangers, and the Mount Ainslie Weeders and Ms. Deady, enough for making this unforgettable trip possible!

By Xavier, Josh, Tilly, and Ella