WHAT NATIONAL TREE DAY MEANS TO US
CELEBRATING NATIONAL TREE DAY
Our goal at Rooh Collective is to create beautiful pieces that express one’s individuality, that last from season to season, whilst looking after the people we employ, ensuring they have a stable and fair income and that they enjoy their livelihoods. Alongside this, caring for our beautiful Mother Earth and having an environmental responsibility in everything we do, is something we think about daily, and how we can improve our carbon footprint.
The Plant a Tree Initiative we are a part of this month, to celebrate National Tree Day on 1st August, is our way to give back to the planet. Reforest Now Australia works to restore what was once Australia’s largest expanse of subtropical rainforest, since it was cleared by the early settlers to 1% of its original size. Although fragmented and small today, it is still home to some incredible biodiversity, including native wildlife and species that are vulnerable or endangered.
To support this sustainability initiative, for every sale we make in August, Reforest Now will be planting one tree on our behalf.
WHY IT MATTERS
It’s commonly known that a key feature in the fight against climate change is to plant trees. It is one of the biggest, and most cost effective, ways of taking carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere, that are driving global heating.
Research done in the last few years estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove almost two thirds of these emissions, added from human activity and the way we live our lives today.
“This new quantitative evaluation shows [forest] restoration isn’t just one of our climate change solutions, it is overwhelmingly the top one,” said Prof Tom Crowther at the Swiss university ETH Zürich, who led the research. “What blows my mind is the scale. I thought restoration would be in the top 10, but it is overwhelmingly more powerful than all of the other climate change solutions proposed.”
With this as their focus, National Tree Day was started in 1996 and has grown into Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature care event. Schools and communities across the country take part, getting their hands dirty and giving back to their planet.
Photo by WHY WE CARE
For us at Rooh, we want to celebrate National Tree Day (or National Tree Month for us!) not only for the environmental benefits, but also to celebrate reconnecting with nature. We take so much inspiration from nature and what surrounds us, and it's our way to give back on a personal level.
We also find being out in nature as a source of peace, as do many others. During a global pandemic such as the one we are all experiencing now, many have to come to question what brings them peace and find ways to manage stress at such a difficult and unsettling time.
There is an old adage that says you need to "stop and smell the roses". What this is telling us is that we all need to slow down, and appreciate the little things around us. Little things like the scent of a beautiful rose, or sunlight peeking through the trees on an autumn day. These ‘little things’ work out to be great things when they put you in a place of peace and provide a sense of euphoria. Everyone should be able to experience this; a state where they feel an incredible sense of well-being and happiness.
Although this may seem like a time-wasting effort - so many of us are so busy we do not have time to 'stop and smell the roses’ - a study at Rutgers University found that those who appreciate nature are more likely to find greater happiness and peace in their lives; that examining nature for its beauty alone can change one’s behaviour and create a positive emotional response to the world around them.
The fact of the matter remains that now is the time for a more positive emotional response, than ever before. This COVID-19 pandemic has set everyone on edge; values are being put into question, families have been torn apart and we believe that finding a way to restore a sense of peace and happiness is essential.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Help us rebuild our beautiful forests, step out in nature once in a while and breathe in the glory that sits around us everyday. You’d be surprised how at peace you will feel and will be ready to take on the rest of your day, with a slightly lighter step.
