NSW: Murray River Rescue to plant 10 million trees

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2001
NSW: Murray River Rescue to plant 10 million trees

By Kelly Nicholls

SYDNEY, Aug 17 AAP - A nationwide program to save one of Australia's most important
rivers, the Murray, will be started in Wagga Wagga this weekend, the only woman to have
swum its length announced today.

Marathon swimmer and ambassador for the Murray River Rescue Tammy Van Wisse said the
program will involve the planting of more than 140,000 trees by around 800 community volunteers
at various sites in Wagga Wagga.

The community tree planting is the beginning of a 10 year project organised by Scouts
Australia and Greenfleet which will see 10 million trees planted along the Murray River
in South Australia, Victoria, NSW and ACT.

The total plantings will create forests over an area equivalent to 250 Sydney Cricket Grounds.

Ms Van Wisse earlier this year swam the 2,400km length of the Murray in a record 106
days straight in an effort to highlight the environmental degradation of the river.

Chief Commissioner of Scouts Australia NSW branch Graeme Fordham said the Murray River
was vitally important to Australia.

"Without drastic action the increasing salinity problem of the Murray River means that
Australia's food production will be cut by 40 per cent, Adelaide's drinking water will
be unfit to drink and five million hectares of productive land could be lost," he said.

The Murray Darling Basin covers more than one million square kilometres of land, produces
more than 40 per cent of Australia's food exports and agriculture produce to 52 countries
worldwide and supplies drinking water for three million people.

The basin is under threat from salinity due mainly to excessive land clearing and an
ever increasing demand for water for irrigation.

Greenfleet Technical Director Henry O'Clery said the aim was to make the tree planting
an annual event.

"The Murray puts food and wine on our tables every day," he said.

"Murray River Rescue is an investment for the future, it will create permanent forests
of diversity which will reduce salinity, create habitat and help restore the Murray River."

AAP kn/mo/cjh/de

KEYWORD: MURRAY

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