What to Do
Presenter: Sue McDougall
Grass Trees, Blackboys, or Balgas as they are more respectfully known, are iconic. They touch people in a way that is hard to explain and touch on many issues at the core of the Australian Cultural Identity.
Unfortunately much of our unique Bush Landscapes are being lost to the need for new Industrial and Housing developments.
Replants.com is an environmental business formed in 2001 in response to current development practices. Their primary business is to salvage vegetation from urban bushland development sites and make it available for replanting into both commercial and residential gardens.
Having both a business and environmental background Bruce decided to get in and see if he could contribute to finding a better way.
Bruce - “My first response to broad acre urban bushland clearing was just shock, I mean I arrived on-site to see the bush just totally destroyed. But when you reflect on it, this is the way that it has always been. And if you follow it through I suppose you have got to ask yourself “Is it Ok to keep doing this?”
“My response was two fold. The first was to build a business able to work with developers to salvage and replant as much of the bush as possible. The second was to work with both the public and the development industry to create change.”
Effectively, replants.com is a privately owned environmental organization that is funded through the sale and transplantation of bush that would otherwise be destroyed.
So what are some of the commonly questions people ask when they are thinking of getting grass trees?
The first is do they survive. The answer is definitely yes. All the trees come with planting instructions, a transplant formula that we have developed is also available and if you follow the instructions and maintain your plants you should expect a survival rate of at least 75-80%
The second question is usually what is the cost? They start at $50 so they are affordable while a six foot tree is around the $150 mark.
By purchasing grass trees and other salvaged native plants you get to
(1) Save them from the bulldozer,
(2) enjoy them in your own garden, and importantly for replants.com,
(3) Support an organization dedicated to the cause of improving current land-clearing practices.
All the info you need on prices and sizes, where to get them and how to get them home is on the website www.replants.com
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