**Toyota Australia and its dealer network supporting Planet Ark's National Tree Day for the 23rd year**
**Calling on Australians to roll up their sleeves and add to the 26 million trees planted to date**
**Toyota Australia dealers hosting various tree planting events across Australia**
Toyota Australia has reinforced its commitment to creating a more sustainable future by supporting Planet Ark's Schools Tree Day and National Tree Day, encouraging all Australians to plant a tree for the benefit of the environment and the future of the community.
Organised by Planet Ark in partnership with Toyota Australia, Schools Tree Day is held on Friday 29th July and National Tree Day on Sunday 31st July with local dealerships across the country getting involved and assisting local schools, councils and community groups with various planting activities.
Planting more trees is proven to assist in reducing the impact of CO2 emissions, with Planet Ark noting that a large healthy tree can sequester up to 93kg of CO2 per year.
Revegetation of environmental destruction is also vital and following the devastating bushfires of the 2019/20 summer, large swathes of native forest have been decimated with more than 5.3 million hectares lost to fires in NSW alone.
Toyota Australia and its dealer network has now been a major sponsor of Planet Ark's National Tree Day for 23 years, and Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo said this support highlights the importance of a collective commitment to helping rebuild our natural environment.
"If each person plants just one tree, we can really make a difference, as over the past 26 years we have seen more than 26 million trees planted by over five million volunteers," Mr Naidoo said.
"Not only is planting a tree positive for the environment, being in nature is also beneficial for our mental health and wellbeing, so we encourage everyone to get involved and connect with nature on National Tree Day," he said.
New research commissioned on behalf of Planet Ark by Pollinate as part of The Pulse survey, shows eight out of ten Australians agree that planting trees is an important part of creating a more sustainable future. This reflects Australians' understanding of their ability to make a difference through their own behaviour, with seven out of ten agreeing individual actions can have a positive impact on global environmental issues such as climate change.
"These results clearly display Australians want to make a positive impact on the environment and one of the simplest things we can do to support nature is to plant a tree," said Planet Ark co-CEO Rebecca Gilling.
For those who are unable to attend Planet Ark's National Tree Day events this year, another way to give nature the helping hand it needs is through donations to The Seedling Bank - a program launched in 2019 that supplies native seedlings to schools and community groups around Australia.
More than 150 Toyota Australia dealerships will be involved in Schools National Tree Day and National Tree Day events nationally, and Toyota Dealers will be providing a variety of useful gear for planting days including items such as hats, gloves, tree guards, seedlings, and vouchers.
In addition to supporting National Tree Day, Toyota Australia has also contributed this year with its Footy Forest initiative, supported by the AFL. The company is providing one native seedling to be planted for every point scored across rounds 17 - 19 of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. To further support the Footy Forest initiative, Toyota Australia will now double this donation, which, with 4488 points scored across the three rounds, will see the Footy Forest grow to a total of 8,976 trees planted across the country.
Toyota Dealer activity around Australia this year includes:
• Torque Toyota (QLD) will be celebrating their 20th year supporting Planet Ark's National Tree Day and Schools Tree Day by donating trees to various schools within the area and hosting a BBQ on Sunday 31st July with Morton Bay Council
• Hayes Toyota (NSW) will be donating tree planting equipment and National Tree Day merchandise to St Joseph's School Murwillumbah, which was badly hit by recent flooding.
• Bendigo Toyota (VIC) will assist both Golden Square Primary School and Eppalock Primary School with planting on Friday 29 July for Schools Tree Day on school grounds and in conjunction with a local land care group.
• Adelaide Hills Toyota (SA) will be planting trees at Cornerstone College on Friday 29 July as well as delivering hybrid discussion sessions with mixed year levels.
• Co-Op Toyota (TAS) will be donating a $500 nursery voucher to multiple schools within the area for their tree planting activities.
• Mandurah Toyota (WA) will be providing National Tree Day equipment to Falcon Primary School and North Mandurah Primary School for Schools Tree Day and hosting a Hybrid display at a local Government planting day Sunday 31 July.
Toyota Ambassadors, Adam Goodes, Guy Sebastian, Daisy Pearce, Katie Brennan, Jonathan Brown, Emma Vosti, Belle Brockhoff and Friends of the Brand, Phoebe Burgess, Emma Hawkins, Abbey Holmes, Tom Derickx, and Nathan McGuire are also getting their hands dirty by planting a tree seedling to encourage Aussies to participate in this year's Planet Ark's National Tree Day.
To find a local planting event visit: https://treeday.planetark.org/find-a-site/ or visit a local participating Toyota Australia Dealership.
