On Friday 18th July 2025, Greater Sydney Landcare hosted a planting event at Little Tasker Park in Campsie, in partnership with the City of Canterbury Bankstown. Around 50 dedicated volunteers turned up on an overcast winter’s morning to plant 600 native trees and shrubs for Creating Canopies, plus another 600 grasses, groundcovers and sedges provided by the Council.
Led by Project Manager Danielle Hughes, Project Officer Alicia Harb-Akins, Revegetation Officer Ryan Birtles, and Environmental Field Officer Eoin Marnell, the group’s energy and care helped transform some of the park’s open space into future habitat.
“The volunteers braved the rain first thing in the morning and didn’t let it affect them,” said Alicia. “Great vibes and awesome teamwork by everyone. I especially loved that we were able to include groundcovers, thanks to Council—further increasing the biodiversity benefit of the site.”
Cooling Our Cities, Restoring Local Habitat
The volunteers planted trees and shrubs that will grow three metres and taller, establishing a future canopy and midstorey layer. Grasses and groundcovers filled out the understorey to create a resilient, multi-layered planting structure—ideal for native wildlife and urban cooling.
The species in this planting were selected to correspond with the threatened Cooks River Castlereagh Ironbark Forest plant community type, as well as the Coastal Sandstone Foreshores Forest ecological community.
This planting will contribute to improving conditions along the Cooks River—Australia’s most polluted river. Planting more vegetation near waterways like the Cooks River can help filter stormwater runoff, reduce erosion, and improve water quality, contributing to broader river health and climate resilience goals.
Species Planted on the Day
Some of the native plants installed included:
- Gum Trees – Eucalypts and Angophoras
- Paperbarks – Melaleucas
- Sheoak – Allocasuarinas
- Native Poplar – Homalanthus populifolius
- Wattles – Acacias
- Native Coffee Bush – Breynia oblongifolia
- Hop Bush – Dodonaea triquetra
- Gorse Bitter-pea – Daviesia ulicifolia
- Tick Bush – Kunzea ambigua
- Rough fruit Pittosporum – Pittosporum revolutum
- Hop Goodenia – Goodenia ovata
Community in Action
And the volunteers didn’t just stop there. The group assembled guards and staked them in along the boundaries of the planting, to encourage walkers and lawn mowers to give the new plants some space. They also watered each plant thoroughly to give them the best start.
It was an awesome community effort, with groups like The Mudcrabs (Cooks River eco-volunteers) lending a hand and Cooks River Alliance‘s Senior Engagement Officer Jason L’Ecuyer speaking about how this work connects to the larger goal of cleaning up the river system.
Kids Learning About Urban Cooling
A heat-measuring activity was run with volunteers including families, comparing temperatures under canopy to unshaded areas to help explain the real-world benefits of trees—how they help cool our cities and create more liveable spaces.
Creating Canopies focuses on planting in local government areas with less than 30% canopy cover, aiming to combat extreme heat and increase habitat across Greater Sydney. Every site makes a difference—and Little Tasker Park’s transformation is one of many steps toward a more climate-ready, biodiverse city.
Volunteer Feedback: Why It Mattered
Feedback from volunteers was overwhelmingly positive:
- “Fantastic opportunity to contribute to greening the city.”
- “I absolutely loved it! It’s amazing to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Super fulfilling, well organised.”
- “I brought my mum along—we had a fantastic time outdoors and chatting with the other volunteers.”
- “Was great to get out and help create a sustainable environment for the community”
And their favourite parts of the event?
- “Seeing the transformation of a neglected bit of land.”
- “Contributing to an amazing cause! Getting outside in nature and meeting new people.”
- “Hearing from the team about why it’s so important to take care of our environment”
- “I found the watering one of the most relaxing parts.”
- “Seeing all our hard work once we were finished was extremely rewarding.”
Creating Canopies for the Future
A huge thank you to the City of Canterbury Bankstown for volunteering this site and supplying native grasses—and particularly to Lachlan Prentice, Catchment Management Officer at the City of Canterbury Bankstown.
Thank you also to all the volunteers who gave their time, energy, and care. What you planted will grow into something that supports both community and wildlife for generations to come.
Volunteer for Bushcare in Canterbury-Bankstown
If you’d like to contribute to environmental efforts in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA, you can become a Bushcare volunteer and regenerate bushland. No experience is necessary as training is provided.
Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare
Find out more about Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare here. Be sure to download our Corporate Volunteering Info Pack.
Get Involved in Creating Canopies
If you’d like to find out how to get free trees planted on your land, visit our Register Your Site for Trees page.
Come along and plant trees with Creating Canopies. Find out what events we have coming up on Greater Sydney Landcare’s Eventbrite page.
About Creating Canopies
Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare are planting 300,000 trees from 2020-2025 as part of the Greening our City program to help reduce urban heat in Greater Sydney. Proudly funded by the NSW Government.
