A tree along Spring Drive has been transformed with blue paint as part of the Blue Tree Project to raise awareness for mental health.
The local area is home to thousands of native trees as well as unique scenes but one that merges the two is for a great cause.
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Upon driving along Spring Drive, locals and tourists alike may notice a blue painted tree, standing alone in a paddock.
This was completed by Belinda Willett and her family as part of the mental health campaign, the Blue Tree Project.
Blue Tree Project was founded with a mission to help spark important conversations and encourage people to speak up when experiencing mental health concerns.
By using dead trees painted blue to raise awareness of the mental health cause: "it’s OK to not be OK", we can help break down the stigma that’s still largely attached to mental health.
“We learnt of the blue tree project from travelling to Sydney for many years and always seeing this one blue tree along the way, which obviously led us into googling what it meant,” Belinda said.
“Upon finding out about the cause, we thought it was a great organisation and way to get people talking about such a huge issue that affects so many people and families.
“So basically, my mother-in-law Cherie and I had often spoken about the trees, as unfortunately we lost someone very close to us from mental health.
“But it wasn’t until a few months ago that I started researching and got my sisters and a close friend on board who also had done a lot of research too.
“It was much easier to be able to paint a tree on private property, so I did a lot of driving and looking around until I found the perfect tree on Dyonne Rhodes property.
“I asked her permission to which she was very kind to say yes, and we just went from there.
“So we just picked a date, all got together and painted our little hearts out from 8.30am until we finally finished around 3.30pm.”
The people who painted the tree including Belinda Willett, her sisters, nieces and close friends with the finished product.
Blue Tree Project has flourished into a charity helping change the way we as a society talk about mental health.
The symbol of the blue tree now holds a whole new meaning for so many, acting as a source of conversation that helps save lives, the blue trees are visual reminders to check in on loved ones and mates who might be struggling.
There is hope. There is support.
Something that began out of tragedy now offers a positive way for people to connect and help change the way we view and talk about mental health.
“We did it to support mental health awareness and thought it would be great to have one in our local community/area so people who are struggling with their mental health know that they are not alone and there are people around who care and are here for them,” Belinda said.
“It is located 7km down Spring Drive and we urge everyone to go for a drive and check it out.”
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