NATURAL HERITAGE EDUCATION

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:41): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and Conservation a question about natural heritage education.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Today this state reached a milestone in its Three Million Trees Urban Forest Program with the planting of the 1.5 millionth tree. In recognising this fantastic achievement, the Premier (Hon. Mike Rann) was joined by two high-profile conservationists, Terri and Bindi Irwin, at a planting ceremony in Adelaide's beautiful Parklands. Their visit is an important recognition of the urban forest initiative, particularly so when it comes to spreading the message on biodiversity to our school students. Will the minister inform the council of initiatives to educate young South Australians on the importance of environmental conservation?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:42): I thank the honourable member for his most important question and his ongoing interest in important environmental matters. It was fantastic to see this milestone reached today, and particularly for it to be recognised by such well-renowned conservationists as the Irwins, who have brought momentum to the environmental movement that we are keen to incorporate into our program. I am pleased to say that a fantastic grants program is helping schools and kindergartens to 'go green' and plant native trees and shrubs endemic to their local areas, and a Grow a Great School program which began in 2003 and which offers grants of up to $1,000 to help South Australian schools develop on-campus planting projects for native trees and shrubs.

The idea behind the program is to help students, teachers, parents and care givers re-establish some of the vegetation that existed in the local area before European settlement. Since its inception, more than 90 planting projects have been undertaken around SA schools, which is all the more important given that students help to collect seeds from remnant native vegetation in local areas. Schools are not just a place to learn for our children; they are often a focal point for local community and, in many cases, an important green space in the area. They can be a home to native birds, a place to kick the footy with the kids on weekends or simply a green space to enjoy on a morning walk.

For this reason, schools can be used not only to educate children about conservation but also to show them how it is done. Students are literally helping to bring back small sections of bushland which would have once existed at the site of their school and which will encourage the return of native birds and other fauna; and what better way could there be of illustrating the conservation message to students than seeing it in action? The potential benefits, both environmental and educational, are as varied as the projects.

Not only are students helping to plant trees and shrubs but also they are helping to recover and protect our native biodiversity by increasing habitat for the native wildlife, reducing greenhouse gases, improving air and water quality, reducing water consumption, creating amenity spaces, improving awareness and understanding of sustainability issues, building better partnerships and involving communities and helping improve skill levels and capacity to conserve our natural resources. It is fantastic to be able to offer grants to local schools. I encourage all schools to consider applying for this great program; it can provide a lifelong lesson in caring for the environment.