In the year of the Queen’s Jubilee grants will be made available to organisations to plant thousands of trees throughout the Central West and Riverina to honour the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II and her 70 years of service to Australia and the Commonwealth.
Member for Riverina Michael McCormack said eligible groups and organisations could lodge an expression of interest (EOI) in tree-planting grants being made available through the $15.1 million Planting Trees for The Queen’s Jubilee Program.
Grants from $2,500 to $20,000 will be available to a broad range of organisations, with each Federal electorate eligible to receive up to $100,000 for up to 10 projects. To be eligible, applicants must have an Australian Business Number and be an incorporated not-for profit entity or eligible government entity. Schools and churches are also eligible to lodge an EOI, subject to sponsorship criteria which is available from Michael’s Wagga Wagga electorate office.
Trees planted may be native or non-native, but must be regionally appropriate and grow to more than two metres tall when mature.
EOIs for the Riverina electorate can be lodged until 5pm on Thursday, 31st March. EOIs should include a short description of the project, total cost, grant funding sought, why the project is important to the community and contact details.
Expressions of interest forms can be requested by emailing michael.mccormack.mp@aph.gov.au or by contacting the electorate office on 6921 4600. The office can also provide further information about eligibility of organisations and the type of trees which can be planted.
The Queen has visited Australia 16 times and on many of these visits planted trees leaving a long-lasting reminder of the special occasion for the people in those communities. The Queen is said to have planted 1,500 trees throughout her reign.