Greening of tower environs

Rotary Narrandera, in partnership with Landcare, has started work on a landscaping project at the Narrandera water tower environs.

Volunteers from Rotary, Landcare and Narrandera High School were at the water tower site on Tuesday planting trees.

“Rotary has been planning this project for a year,” said Rotary President Joan Graham. “It’s all been done with the work of local volunteers. The inspiration for it was outgoing International President of Rotary Ian Riseley, who wanted every Rotarian to plant a tree. So we’re planting 50 up here and hopefully they survive.”

The soil around the water tower is quite rocky, as the volunteers discovered, with the backhoe frequently digging up rocks the size of bowling balls.

“It’s not bad soil, it’s just a bit stoney,” Ms Graham said. “Hopefully the trees can get established and have a good chance when Spring arrives.”

Rotary sought advice before planting to establish what would be the best trees for the area. According to Mrs Graham, the identifying and sourcing of trees was the main reason for the time taken to begin the project.

Also helping out on the day were students from Narrandera High School’s Links to Learning program, who took time out from school to support the Rotary volunteers.

The project is part of a planned beautification of the area. Rotary’s initial proposal included painting a mural on the water tower as well as landscaping.