The month of June is a fantastic time to climb at Arapiles and also an ideal time for planting, with cooler weather and a bit of moisture in the ground. Why not come along and support the VCC and Cliffcare in helping to give back to a place that gives us so much .…

Plant your own tree in the Campground and watch it grow as you return to the Mount in coming years! The tree planting will happen on the Saturday morning commencing at 0900 and once the trees are in the ground, watered and guarded we can head out climbing.

An old Greek Proverb says it all:  “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

The good news is that most of us will get to sit in their shade. This is an annual event and hopefully over time will make a real difference to the campground and its environs. While Ollie Sherlock has again lovingly grown these seedlings from local seed, he can’t be there this year. In his place Adam Merrick will be co-ordinating the Cliffcare Tree Planting Working Bee. Please contact Adam to express your interest in the Working Bee. It’s important for planning purposes and the number of tools required that the number of participants are known in advance. Please make Adam’s task easier by emailing him now!

Ben Wright will be the trip leader for the climbing side of things. Please contact Ben separately to express interest in this climbing trip. Ben can be contacted via email using: benandheather81@yahoo.com

This year we have the following seedlings to be planted:

20 White Cypress Callitris glaucophylla – Seed collected Declaration Crag Area

20 Buloke Allocasuarina luehmanii – seed collected Natimuk – Francis Road

20 Drooping Sheoak Allocasuarina stricta – Seed collected Watchtower Area

20 Weeping Pittospermum Pittospermum angustifolium – seed collected Natimuk Golf Links Road, Arapiles- Tooan SP

Photos: Ollie and son Flynn with seedlings grown from local Callitris Pine, Yellow Gum and Casuarina seeds. All seedlings have been grown by Ollie from locally collected seeds. Climbing trip leader Ben Wright toping out on another classic at Moonarie.

This Working Bee is supported by Parks Victoria, Cliffcare, The Victorian Climbing Club and Friends of Arapiles.