It was a bitterly cold start to the day at Clonbinane on Saturday July 27th, when the Rotary Club of Pascoe Vale BBQ Trailer was set-up perched on top of the hill at Jacqui Sim’s property. 16 months earlier a few of us had stood on this peak and been horrified at the damage the bushfires had caused to this area, whilst we helped Jacqui to clear her block of the devastation and loss of her house and all belongings.

On this occasion, no one was really feeling the cold as we were all excited to be there again to help Jacqui and her daughter Mia to continue to put their lives back together. Jacqui has battled to rebuild her house and has done a marvellous job, however this tree planting day organised in conjunction with Landcare will provide much needed native plants and trees for her property.

1,700 trees were planted between 9am and 1pm by a team of about 50 people with ages ranging from 4 to 74, under the guidance and assistance of the Landcare team. The day seemed to get colder and colder as it went on, and all were treated to a much needed burger or snag and a drink courtesy of the Rotary Club of Pascoe Vale.

The team of tree planters came from various backgrounds, some friends, some locals, some Rotarians and some from businesses like Westpac a proud corporate supporter of the Rotary Club of Pascoe Vale.

It was fantastic and heart warming to see so many people there to help Jacqui, working as a team and enjoying the day. Overall a very rewarding day for those who helped, and a project where you can really see your efforts contributing to the improvement of someone’s life and the environment.

We all look forward to returning to Clonbinane in a few years time (on a slightly warmer day!), to sit on Jacqui’s deck with a glass of red to really see the fruits of our labour and compare photos of today to once the trees and shrubs have grown.


Steve Webb
President