Mark Allaway offers a “green gift” to the Dalai Lama

This week’s success story comes from Victoria, Australia.

Our loyal and dedicated community member (and ex-Australian regional coordinator), Mark Allaway, tells us about his latest planting activity.

Mark tells us that “These winter plantings are happening at Stone Jug, despite the ongoing drought. While we have had some very light rainfall in the past month, it has only occurred in single-digit falls of a few millimetres! This is not enough to carry many plants through the summer this year without some very heavy falls over 50mm. We are planting more tussocks, rushes, and lilies as understorey to small shrubs and trees. The density of the planting is 3-4 plants per square meter. These plants spread by rhizome stems (specialized, horizontal, underground plant stems that can sprout new roots and shoots from nodes) and will compete with introduced grasses. The tussock plants are especially important for the lifecycle of butterflies and moths, which lay their eggs in the dense stems, and the hatched caterpillars are protected from other insects and birds.”

Plantings by Mark

Mark dedicated his planting to the Dalai Lama on the occasion of his 90th birthday, on 6 July 2025, and wishes for “his healthy, long life and continued teaching, and for the successful location of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation in Nepal.”

Thank you very much, Mark, for telling us about your ongoing gift to the planet, and for your sincere dedication. We appreciate you!

If you have planted and dedicated a tree for the Dalai Lama’s birthday too, please tell us about it! We are looking forward to hearing from you, and to write an inspiring success story about YOU!

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If you are in Australia and want to plant a tree too, get in touch with one of our Australian coordinators, or have a look at our tree-planting guide, to help you get your tree(s) planted!