(l-r) Cr Ian McKenzie, Cr Norm Wyndham, Cr Krista Adams and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk

Brisbane achieved a milestone on Sunday 5 February 2012 when Lord Mayor Graham Quirk planted the 2 Millionth Tree at the Lookout picnic area on Mt Gravatt.

2 million trees! WOW!

Community volunteers starting on the next million trees

I am proud of what we have achieved with restoration of the two hectare Fox Gully Bushcare site. We have put in over 3,400 hours of community volunteer labour and we have planted just over 2,000 trees, grasses, herbs and vines. That is just 0.1% of 2 million, so I can truly appreciate what has been achieved by City Council teams, the contractors and volunteers right across the city.

Council and contractor teams

About thirty years ago I gained support of residents in Guthrie Street, Paddington and wrote to the City Council asking for street trees to be planted. I can now look at Guthrie Street on Google Maps and see those trees still growing and still providing shade  in our hot Queensland sun. Not every tree has survived thirty years. Some trees barely survived three weeks before being pulled up by vandals but the Council team persisted quickly replacing the damaged trees. The 2 Million Trees project has persisted against much bigger set-backs, like replacing trees lost in last year’s flood.

So I am now looking forward to another thirty years, watching 2 million trees mature and grow, right across the city.