Contact: Jennifer Johnson – Landcare Coordinator (Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group).
Project: 20 Million Trees (Federal Grant) and Barwon Water Free-tree scheme; 2 litre carton tree guards used within the MCLG area where applicable.
Background:
Jennifer Johnson, Landcare Coordinator for the Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group, has been utilising the 2 litre carton tree guards from Arborgreen on all planting and revegetation projects over several years.
Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group (MCLG) is a non-for-profit organization that works toward an agricultural and environmentally sustainable future in the Moorabool region. MCLG undertake a variety of revegetation programs each year which encourages members to get involved in taking care of their community and learning about the local land.
The Landcare group provides free plants, free guards and stakes to full members at various times throughout the year. Plants can range from wildflowers and understory to shrubs and trees or wetland plants. The amount of free plants and guards is dependent on available funding for the revegetation program. The Landcare Group receives grants from Federal and State Governments as well as supporting entities and philanthropy.
The Landcare Group uses Arborgreen’s 2 litre carton tree guards on all revegetation programs with great success.
Jennifer said that they have used plastic sleeve tree guards before
but they presented a bit of a challenge.
“We’ve used plastic sleeve guards before, but we found that they were blowing off constantly; they required at least four stakes in our very windy region; and also took a little longer to install. We wanted to use non-plastic products, that had less potential to end up in our waterways and could break down overtime with a less detrimental effects to the environment.”
Benefits in detail:
Jennifer believes that the 2 litre carton tree guards provide a range of benefits:
- Degradable – The carton guards are fully degradable, this is a great benefit to landholders who may not have the resources to remove every guard installed. It encourages landholders to take advantage of the revegetation projects without any added work.
- Protection for the plants – The slim line design and square structure ensures foraging animals cannot gain access easily to the young seedlings preventing them from being eaten away. The strong cardboard with pre-cut slots for stakes also provides added protection from strong wind giving the seedlings a great opportunity to flourish without disruption.
- Price – The carton guards are an economical way to protect the investment of newly planted seedlings.
- Easy to install – With their lightweight design the cardboard carton guards are easy to transport and handle and with the pre-cut slots on each side they are simple to open up and secure into the ground with two stakes. The quick and easy installation means you can save time on your install and reduce the amount of manual labour required.
Jennifer also stated that “The carton guards from Arborgreen give the plants the best start to life and saves the Landcare group a lot of time and money – which our members benefit from.”
With their simple and quick installation, inexpensive supply and the degradable advantages, the 2 litre carton tree guards ensure that the revegetation projects in the Moorabool Catchment Area continue to flourish.
Jennifer and her colleagues will definitely continue using the guards for all their planting projects well into the future.
