The 2026 Planting Festival

A Message from Triton

This is a moment of change at Myponga. In June, the revegetation project will move from idea, to reality. In some ways it’s a moment of creation. But this moment is actually the culmination of years of conversation, effort, friendship, and trust.

The 16,000 handplanted seedlings will mark a turning point that we can witness. The tired grazing pastures will spring back to life. Old colonial ideas about stripping the land for human benefit will be replaced by giving nature back its autonomy. This is eco-centric care at its best.

Planting trees can be rewarding for us humans, but native grasslands are where it’s really at for this place. Before colonisation, the hills of Myponga were low woody grasslands - meaning mostly stuff below waist height, with the occasional pink gum or sheoak overhead. In fact, native grasslands are more biodiverse, create more niche habitats, build better soil health, hold precious water, and are more fire-resilient than a forest. And in times of increasing challenges, diversity and resilience are needed more than ever.

Joining in the planting festival is about more than just the satisfaction of getting your hands in the soil. Even more than the meaningful conversations that arise from shared efforts and meals together. It’s the personal invitation to show your care. To soften your habitual dominance over, and perhaps most importantly, rediscover your place within nature.

This land at Myponga will become a common ground, a place you're invited back to regularly. So the experience you have now will keep unfolding over time, and in different ways, as the land changes and you change with it.

I hope to see you there.

Triton