Local secondary students have helped propagate and plant native trees in a green boost for Greenvale as part of the Mickleham Road Upgrade – Stage 1.
A group of year 9s and 10s from Aitken College joined the project team for a planting day at Candy Road Basin recently in the culmination of the joint environmental initiative.
The planting project began in 2023 with the students helping the project team collect seeds from local trees before propagating them in the college’s greenhouse.
Their eventual crop comprised 12 river red gums and 10 grey boxes, with the trees growing to 1.2m by the planting day on Monday 5 August.
The day began with a pre-start meeting at which the project team provided students and staff with details of what the activity would involve before setting out for Candy Road Basin.
After helping plant the trees in the basin’s open space, the students returned to the college for a panel discussion and Q&A session with the project team and an ecologist.
To conclude the day, the team provided a barbecue lunch to thank the students and staff for their participation.
Along with providing the basin with an environmental boost, the joint initiative provided the group of Service Projects students with lifelong skills to support the college’s curriculum.
It also reflected the aim of Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) to leave communities with lasting legacies beyond transport infrastructure when delivering projects such as the Mickleham Road Upgrade – Stage 1.
MRPV and its construction partner on the upgrade, BMD Constructions, arranged the initiative in collaboration with the college.
The project is adding lanes in each direction between Somerton Road and Dellamore Boulevard to improve safety and ease congestion for the 25,000 drivers using Mickleham Road daily in northern Melbourne.
As part of Stage 1, the roundabout at Somerton and Mickleham roads will be replaced with a new traffic light intersection, including priority bus lanes, to better manage traffic flow.
Intersection upgrades at Lemonwood Drive and Greenvale Gardens Boulevard are complete. An intersection upgrade at Dellamore Boulevard is underway, and further upgrades at Hillview Road and Blossom Boulevard are set to commence in the coming weeks.
Stage 1 also includes new sections of shared walking and cycling path to improve connectivity and safety on Mickleham Road.
Planning and development work is underway to inform the potential Mickleham Road Upgrade - Stage 2, between Dellamore Boulevard and Craigieburn Road.
More information on both stages is available on our Mickleham Road Upgrade project page.