Within Sydney Park are several groves of trees which have been planted as a living memorial to those who have died of HIV/AIDS.
From the SPAIDS website:
"Community groups were encouraged to plant Australian native species of trees, and SPAIDS was supported by Council in 1994 at its first planting on 15 May 1994.
"Individuals who were carers of people with HIV/AIDS felt the need for a living memorial to those who had died from the disease, so Council was approached to set aside a section of this new park project for this purpose. Council agreed. At the time the Council was organizing three plantings a year in order to accelerate growth of trees.
"SPAIDS persisted with Council and plantings, and by 2008, SPAIDS had had 33 plantings and planted over 8000 trees and commemorated over 1200 people."
Thank you very much for posting an item about Sydney Park AIDS Memorial Groves - SPAIDS.
ReplyDeleteThe next planting is on National Tree day, Sunday 31 July 2011 and we hope the weather will be good for planting.
We live in Melbourne now, but will be coming up for two weeks to be involved with our planting.
Pleased to meet you and your blog.
Best wishes,
Mannie De Saxe and Kendall Lovett, co-convenors, SPAIDS