The Woodford Folk Festival site is one of my favorite places on this earth. Not only the land with its lush forests and vast wildlife species, but also the friendly like minded people that make this place home. So when the opportunity to spend more time here presented itself, I just had to get involved.
At this years Planting festival I volunteered as a waterer, along with 5 other men from all walks of life whom i now call friends. We were given the task of watering ALL the newly planted trees and plants over the weekend. 9000 of them. Its a tough job but also very rewarding, as the responsibility of giving these plants the best chance of growing into more revegetated forests, gives a great sense of achievement, by actually contributing something to this world without monetary gain.
The Planting Festival Weekend is basically one massive working Bee. The aim is to plant all the trees and plants both Donated by the Council and sponsored by people at Woodford Folk Festival. Food, Workshops and Entertainment was also available with 2 stages, various food stalls and Bar’s.
I arrived at 3:30pm on Friday 1st of May, and after only just pulling into the camp site I spotted Mace, a good Woodford Friend Who I was hoping to see this weekend. Off to a good start. After realising, “Hey, we’re inside the actual Woodford Folk Festival site”, We found a nice camp spot next to the Bridge where the Tibet Stall was located at last years Folk Festival. This was also the First time Machete the Motorhome was introduced to the site. First of many to come.
Later that Evening we had the First of the Planting Volunteer meetings, where I met everyone and the rest of my watering team. It was then time to sit back with a few beers around the fire and enjoy the bands and entertainment Provided for the evening which included Tijuana Cartel Who i have seen Many many times.
Saturday morning, everyone met at one of the stages for the initial Briefing and sorting into Planting teams. We were Explained The meaning of “Tree Time” where its now time to slow down and take in the experience of the Planting. The first groups were formed for the Special Projects teams such as Nesting boxes and Orchid Planting Projects.
Being a Waterer, meant we didnt have to start until 10:30, after the Planting teams had already planted something for us to water. My team had use of the large Mac truck with a 10,000L water tank. She’s a big old beast with loads of character which added to the experience. I made the initial mistake of wearing Normal shoes which were quickly Soaked in mud. After Lunch both me and Trev Changed into Gum Boots which made things a lot more comfortable.
Some Planting areas were quite hard to access with our hoses, which consumed quite a bit of time, so we chose to do the difficult areas first which then made the rest of the day seem quite easy. We did the same on Sunday, starting at 7:30am we hit the large steep slope between the organisers access road and the 5 rain water tanks. This area was so difficult to access, we ended up having to join 3 of our hoses together to reach the entire area. This also meant only one person could water those sections which used up a lot of the morning. We took it in turns to give each other a break which gave me a chance to Talk to a lovely young lady named Fern, a fellow volunteer who frequents the site.
Sunday turned out to be a very successful day with everyone putting in a huge effort. And after 10 exhausting hours in the fields, it was time to join the rest of the festival for The Ceremonial Tree Planting. A gesture of good will where this year a native tree from Africa was planted on the Festival Site.
Although the 2009 Planting had now come to en end, this is only the beginning of many other frequent visits to the Woodford site. Ive now joined the “Woodfordia Tree Huggers” Which are a group of volunteers who visit the site every month to tend to the trees, the weeding, clearing and watering of the new plants. Im also Volunteering to be a Waterer at next years Planting festival, as well as Volunteering for the Main Folk Festival Event.
When I quit my high stress Film & Television Job a few months back, I had planned on getting involved Volunteering my time for a good cause. Work not for money but to help move this planet forward, to not just talk about it, but actually get in and get my hands dirty. The Planting weekend left me with a huge sense of accomplishment, something that never happened in my life of work in the city, And this sense of Accomplishment far outweighs all the money in the world.
dK
The Planting Festival is held each year at the Woodford Folk Festival Site located 10 mins out of the town of Woodford, Queensland, Australia. To Get involved, Please see the Official Planting website http://www.theplantingfestival.com/
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