More than 150 trees and shrubs planted and dedicated at Atisha Centre, Australia

For the last two years, our Australian coordinators Mark and Jill have been helping our tree-planting community at Atisha Buddhist Centre in Bendigo, Victoria, to dedicate their trees and share their stories

Amongst one of the many exciting projects happening at Atisha Centre, is the building and landscaping project of the Kadampa Stupa.

The Kadampa Stupa is being built at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and the project is led by Ven. Gyalten Dondrup, the Director at Atisha Centre.

Mark designed the garden layout and planting design, and is working on the landscape works with Ken Fox, the gardens supervisor at Atisha. Mark says “Ken is very knowledgeable about the native forest areas and identifying local plants, including orchids and wildflowers”. Below are some of the spring flowering plants, which are somewhat small and fragile. They are called Box / Ironbark Forest species, named after the canopy Eucalyptus trees you can see.

The landscaping projects at Atisha Centre have also brought about the opportunity to bring people together and get their hands dirty. Below, Lynne and Susan, two-day visitors, joined in the planting activity. And, the Atisha Director, Ven. Dondrup, also helps with the on-the-ground work!

Earlier in February, Mark told us that two Atisha Centre volunteers, Andrew Miller, and Linley Kerlin, also joined in the planting!

To date, more than 150 trees and shrubs have been planted and dedicated by the Atisha Buddhist Center team! Have a look at the global tree-planting map, to see all the stories, dedications, and photos.

The gardens surrounding the Kadampa Stupa are established on the ancestral lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, the traditional owners of the land.

Regarding the Kadampa Stupa project, Mark tells us that they have started to plant the main garden areas, using 4 advanced palms species (donated by Mark and Jill). These Chinese Windmill Palms are native to Eastern (Old) Tibet, (now China). Here is Ken Fox doing the planting.

A very big thank you to the Atisha Director, Ven. Dondrup, for being so supportive of our founder, Tenzin Ösel’s vision, and for collaborating with us. And, a thank you to Mark and Jill for helping Atisha Center to record their tree-planting activity and dedications.

We are looking forward to learning more about the fun and interesting projects happening at Atisha center!

Remember to check out Atisha Buddhist Centre’s Facebook page, to stay up to date with all their latest projects and events.

Or, visit the center and see if you can spot Mark and Ken planting trees!