WET soil did little to deter volunteers from planting more than 6000 trees at the weekend.
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The annual Yarrilinks event at Minyip is an environmental Landcare initiative that aims to protect and enhance flora and fauna.
Project manager Rae Talbot said more than 150 people attended the event.
“We had some rain on Friday, but people still came out and it was nice for planting,” she said.
“We had a big contingent from Melbourne come along in two buses.”
The groups were part of AMES, an education program that helps migrants learn English.
Mrs Talbot said Melbourne restaurant Lentil as Anything cooked a beautiful feast for the group on Saturday night.
“The meal used our produce, such as chickpeas,” she said.
A couple from Tibet also attended the weekend.
“It is lovely to have people from so many different countries because we learn so much from them,” Mrs Talbot said.
Many visitors to Yarrilinks stay with people in the community. “It’s really good when they can stay with someone because they get to learn from us as well,” Mrs Talbot said.
“Overall it was an amazing weekend.
“It’s always emotional on the Sunday because people make some great friendships and it’s sad to say goodbye.”
Mrs Talbot said she wished more people could come to Yarrilinks, but the event was limited by the amount of beds it could offer.
“We had 85 beds available this year, which was down from our usual number of 100,” she said.
“It’s sad to have to cut down on people.”
The group planted about 6000 trees.
Mrs Talbot said unlike other years, there was no need to water the trees.
“The soil was already wet and it has rained again since,” she said.
She said it was situation the event hadn’t been in for a while.
“Even though last year was an amazing year, when we planted in May it was still quite dry,” she said.
“This year the soil was lovely and wet and the trees will jump out of the ground – as long as the mice don’t get to them.”
Mrs Talbot said this was the 19th annual Yarrilinks.
“This is the grand finale for me though – I’ve been working on this event for the past 20 years, so it’s time to step away,” she said.
“The event has grown so much and I think about all the changes we have made to people’s lives and the land.
“We would have made a huge difference over the past 20 years and we have been able to introduce new people to the region.”