Originally started by Planet Ark in 1996, National Tree Day is a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to the environment.

Since 1996, 26 million trees have been planted by 5 million volunteers who donated 10 million hours of their time to do their bit for nature.

The Orange 2022 National Tree Day planting event is organised by Orange City Council and sponsored by West Orange Motors/ Toyota. Roger Smith, Orange City Council's Natural Resources Coordinator is the main organiser for the day.

He says, "National Tree day 2022 is being held this Sunday, July 31 at Lake Canobolas from 10am to 1pm. The community is invited to come along and plant some native trees for the environment. This will enrich the local biodiversity and enhance local wildlife habitat. The new plantings will complement the trees and shrubs planted at the lake on National Tree Day 2019".

Replacing native vegetation is more important than ever, considering the damming findings of the recently released State of the Environment report which records the dire state of our native biodiversity, mostly through land clearing.

Because of this wildlife corridors and remnant stands of vital habitat are disappearing nationwide.

Continued loss of native vegetation will continue to seriously impact our native species, and in urban areas affect ourselves, as diminished natural environment will jeopardise the capacity of our towns to be resilient, liveable and sustainable in the face of climate change.

Vegetation needs to be valued both for wildlife habitat and the benefit to urban residents.

Loss of trees in the urban landscape renders cities more susceptible to the impacts of climate change, such as heat island effects, and increased heat related illnesses.

As a community we need to ensure that our local planning policies are adequate for protection of our native vegetation, parks and reserves.

Orange City Council is to be congratulated for organising National Tree Day. However, the situation cannot be dealt with by local government alone.

Our State and Federal governments need to do better when it comes to legislating policy and regulation to protect our native vegetation.

It is our duty as a community to send all levels of government a strong message that we want our native vegetation protected.