HAWKESBURY Community Nursery and Hawkesbury Animal Shelter both opened their doors to the public on National Tree Day, August 8.
The nursery gave 1056 native plants to the visitors, who numbered 528.
The day was also the 20th anniversary of Planet Ark’s National Tree Day, which was sponsored by Toyota Australia.
The company donated T-shirts and gloves. Elsewhere in the Hawkesbury, the animal shelter’s open day saw more than 500 people visit, along with 50 former shelter dogs and one cat.
Volunteers and staff said it was nice to be able to say ‘‘hello’’ to some old friends and find out how they were faring in their new homes.
They also talked to visitors about volunteering and encouraged people to consider becoming volunteers themselves.
Hawkesbury Mayor Kim Ford said holding the open days for the nursery and the animal shelter at the same time enabled people to enjoy more festivities than usual.
‘‘I hope the families who received their free plants for National Tree Day spent time together, to plant them in their gardens,’’ Mayor Ford said.
‘‘Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted at the animal shelter and at the nursery.
