The third stage of Berridale Poplar Regeneration Project replanting took place on Thursday, along Middlingbank Road near the intersection with Kiah Lake Road.
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In keeping with tradition, council was assisted with the planting by local school children.
The village of Berridale first established their connection with the avenue of Lombardi Poplar in 1935, when school children from Berridale Public School planted 44 poplars as part of a school project.
The regeneration program started in 2014, when it became clear that the avenue of Lombardi Poplars, along Jindabyne Road, were suffering from age and health issues, along with causing damage to underground infrastructure.
To ensure that Berridale’s historical link with the Lombardi Poplar was not lost, council promised the community that an equal amount of Lombardi Poplars would be planted along the four main approaching roads into Berridale.
Snowy Monaro Regional Council administrator, Dean Lynch, is extremely proud to continue on with the commitment made from the former Snowy River Council.
“Our connection with our towns and villages runs deep throughout the Snowy Monaro Region. It’s this identity which makes it feel ‘like home’. To be a part of the enactment planting ceremony with the next generation of Berridale school children is sincerely gratifying,” Mr Lynch said.
The first replanting, in 2014, included Mr Kevin Burke, one of the original children from Berridale Public School who participated in the 1935 planting. Mr Burke, along with former Snowy River mayor, John Cahill, were given the honour of planting the first Lombardi Poplar along the Kosciuszko Road on the approach from Cooma.
School children from Berridale Public School and relatives of those children from the 1935 planting attended the ceremony and assisted council with planting the remaining trees.
In 2015 the project continued, council was once again assisted by children from Berridale Public School, with Lombardi Poplars planted upon the approach to Berridale from Jindabyne. Now in its third year, planting continued on the approach from Adaminaby.
“The planting of Lombardi Poplars provides an appropriate link between Berridale’s history, its present and now its future. It ensures we remember the activities of those school children from 1935, but more importantly it ensures that the commitment made by council has not been forgotten,” Mr Lynch said.
