Native vegetation

People in orange shirts planting out a small hillside with a Yackandandah sign at the front

Planting native trees

Consider native species that naturally grow in your area; they will thrive with less maintenance and provide a habitat for native animals.

Planting guides:

 

National Tree Planting Day

National Tree Day is Australia's largest tree-planting and nature care event. Tree Day is an opportunity for you to do something positive for your community and the environment, meet other people, do something beneficial for your health, and leave a lasting legacy. To find out dates for this year’s National Tree Day, visit the Planet Ark website: https://treeday.planetark.org/

Trees, shrubs and grasses are really important in Indigo Shire for a variety of reasons, including native habitat and food for birds and other animals, shade, visual appeal, cooling and conservation.   National Tree Day started in 1996 and since then more than 3.8 million people have planted 24 million trees and plants and it's still growing. Indigo Shire’s role is the program is to support community groups and schools that would like to participate, by providing suitable native plant species and other related planting equipment. We do this via an Expression of Interest process around September each year, for Tree Day the following year (the nurseries need a long lead time to grow the trees participants have ordered).

Other ways your group can contribute is by checking up on previous plantings – which may involve removing tree guards that are no longer required (we will reuse them!), monitoring the health of the trees and checking on weed growth.

What if you aren’t part of a school or group and want to participate? It’s easy, check out the national tree days website find an event listing to join other plantings that near you: https://treeday.planetark.org/find-a-site/

Or, why not get your own group together and propose a suitable location on public land, roadside or a community facility.

If you are keen to plant trees on your property – that’s great! Indigo Shire won’t be providing trees to individuals for planting at this stage, but we do offer advice on suitable species, check out the planting lists at the top of this page, and free mulch is available for you to collect at the Beechworth and Rutherglen waste transfer stations. 

Removal of native vegetation

You may need a planning permit to remove or cut down a tree, shrubs or other vegetation if:

  • the property is covered by a heritage overlay
  • your land is over 4000 square metres in area
  • your land is in an Environmental Significance Overlay
  • any of the landscaping has been identified in a landscape plan approved as part of a planning permit

Failure to comply with regulatory requirements may lead to a fine.

Some tree removal activities are exempt from a planning permit, as per the Table of Exemptions in Clause 52.17 of the Planning Scheme. Check here to see if you need a permit.

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