Rapid Creek planting: Time with the family

Volunteers planting along the edge of Darwin's Rapid Creek

I went to Rapid Creek Landcare Group's working bee on Sunday morning. About 20 volunteers planted and watered 300 seedlings in two hours on each side of a 600m section of creek.

What makes people spend a Sunday morning digging holes and planting along a creek in reasonably hot and humid conditions?

Obviously it's got something to do with wanting to spend time in the bush to help conserve some natural heritage. To be able to say with pride that, "I helped to rehabilitate that creek," or "I planted a tree that's now eight metres tall with a birds nest."

But it's also about social interaction, and I realised on the weekend that it's not just about spending time with friends or meeting new friends. It's also about spending some time with family.

There were three mums with their sons between the age of three and 12, a dad with his 15 year old daughter, and a mum and dad with two kids around 10-12. So maybe it's not so much about what "I planted," but more about what "We did together," that will live on for a long long time.

And to make sure their efforts do live on, the group will now re-visit the site each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon to water the seedlings until the rain comes.