10,000 for 10
October 31, 2025
Members of Young Mercy Links (YML) have contributed strongly to the 2000 trees that have been planted by the Institute as part of Catholic Religious Australia’s 10,000 for 10 campaign.
YML have been heavily involved in the Institute’s pledge to contribute to Catholic Religious Australia’s initiative to plant 10,000 trees for the 10th Anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, ‘Laudato Si’. In this letter to all people of good will, Pope Francis called on us to take “swift and unified global action” to protect God’s creation, while lamenting the destruction of nature and climate, and criticising irresponsible economic development and the culture of consumerism.
After agreeing to participate, the Institute and its representatives have held 15 tree planting events so far this year and called on sisters, staff and our Mercy schools to participate.
YML has been thrilled to be involved and has embarked on multiple tree planting days with TreeProject over the last few months. TreeProject is a Victorian NGO that focuses on revegetating landscapes and works together with volunteers to restore urgently needed indigenous vegetation, helping to repair Victoria’s damaged ecosystems. As well as this, many of our members went along to National Tree Day events in their local council area. National Tree Day is celebrated annually in July and is Australia’s largest community event for tree planting and nature care.
“Tree planting is a wholesome experience and a lot of fun spending the day outdoors, in the dirt and working as a community to reintroduce native species to the land. The growers and landowners are always so warm and welcoming. It feels really good to care for nature and nurture our Earth, the way she nurtures and provides for us”– Cassandra Prinzi YML
Currently, the Institute has almost doubled its target of a thousand trees with the tally currently sitting just below 2000. The CRA total is currently sitting at 14000. There is still time to get involved. We encourage you to plant on your own property, in a church yard, a friend’s place, give away a tree as a gift or donate to a tree planting group. Don’t forget to register any trees that you plant on the CRA website, where you can see the map of all trees planted and the stories of those who planted them. The success of this initiative shows the power of community and how advocacy is never a task undertaken alone.
Register your tree – https://www.catholicreligious.org.au/10000-for-10