Pupil Ruby Whitby came prepared with plenty of gardening experience behind her.

“I plant things all of the time, I’ve planted bulbs and shrubs at home before,” she said

Ruby said she loved planting trees because they were good for the environment.

“They give us air and they help other animals, they can also give us fruit and other things to eat.”

School learning support officer Jan Whyte organised the tree planting exercise and said it was the first time the school had taken part.

She brainstormed with the other teachers to figure out how the school could get the most from the day. 

“We wanted to plant something that would contribute back to the kids’ learning,” she said.

‘So we chose to plant a Lilli Pilli grove, this way they can learn about native foods and eventually harvest the fruit.”

In the future the Lilli Pillis will be used in the school cooking classes.

Michael Sturgess from Bega Valley Toyota joined the kids in their planting effort.

As a National Tree Day sponsor, Toyota provided  gloves, shirts and activity books for the students and tree guards for the plants. 

The school only needed to provide their own trees and man power to plant them.

“I think today is getting these kids excited about planting their own trees,” Mr Sturgess said. 

“And hopefully it will raise awareness about the day and we’ll have a few more schools getting in touch next year to follow in Quaama’s footsteps.”

He said it was an easy and cost effective way to teach school kids about the importance of trees and a great way for them to leave their mark on the school grounds for future generations.