Tjuntjuntjara, Great Victoria Desert, WA​

Tjuntjuntjara is a remote Indigenous community, approximately 17 hours east of Perth. The women of the community wanted to “green Tjuntjuntjara” to alleviate dust, provide shade, and enhance the liveability and natural beauty of the town. They also wanted fruit and nut trees in their gardens to provide more fresh food for the community. A volunteer from the Women’s Centre contacted Carbon Positive Australia to see if we would like to be involved in this project.

In September 2021, members of our team travelled to Tjuntjuntjara along with 11 other self-funded volunteers. Over eight days, more than 250 native trees and fruit trees were hand-planted across the town. The response from the community was amazing, with everyone from the youngest to the oldest lending a hand. The volunteers and community members dug holes for the trees mainly by hand and constructed tree protectors from wire and shade cloth.

The remaining trees were planted by the local rangers over the following weeks. Future plans include working with the community to establish a larger plant nursery for propagating local seeds at the Ranger Centre.