The Money Tree

To celebrate 40 years of Greening Australia, we’ve partnered with Bank Australia to create the Money Tree.

Integrating iconic Australian species into the design using recycled and salvaged materials, the artwork demonstrates that choosing the economy and choosing the environment is not an either/or proposition.

The creation of the Money Tree

Artist Michael Moerkerk welding two recycled coins together in his workshop. Michael is wearing a flannel shirt and black safety goggles, surrounded by various tools placed on metal racks across wooden walls. Image by Christopher Chan.

Two hands with yellow and brown gloves twisting copper Money Tree branches together. Image by Christopher Chan.

Artist Michael Moerkerk stands next to a piece of salvaged wood being used for the Money Tree base; out on the dry grasses of the Grampians with a yellow and pink sunrise in the background.Image by Christopher Chan.

A small, cute possum peaks its head out from the Money Tree. Bronze and made from recycled coins and keys. Image by Christopher Chan.

Michael Moerkerk climbs a silver ladder next to the bronze Money Tree, wearing a black, wide-brimmed hat and blue button-up shirt. He stands in the foreground of the blue skies and dry grasses of the Grampians. Image by Christopher Chan.

A bronze cockatoo made from recycled coins and keys sits perched on a Money Tree branch. Image by Christopher Chan.

Artist Michael Moerkek in a black, wide-brimmed hat and blue button-up shirt stands with his hand against the tall, bronze Money Tree. Image by Christopher Chan.

Artist Michael Moerkek in a black, wide-brimmed hat and blue button-up shirt stands with his arms crossed standing a few metres away from the tall, bronze Money Tree, admiring it in the pink and yellow sunrise peaking over the dark blue Grampians mountains in the background.. Image by Christopher Chan.

Get involved: What does valuing nature mean to you?

How do you value nature in your everyday life? How do you think Australia and the global community can better value nature?

Take a photo of the Money Tree or share a snap of your favourite nature spot, tag us @greeningaustralia / @bankaust and use #IValueNature to help us keep the conversation going.

You can also decorate your own Money Tree by downloading this activity sheet!

A man in the distance carrying a white nest box for the Greater Glider, walking down a white, dusty forest path amongst tall, lush green trees with grey-brown trunks.

Green grasses surround a brown and orange running Landers Creek.

Two small children ride scooters at the park. The child on the left is female, wearing a pink helmet and eggshell coloured overalls on a black, two-wheeled scooter. The child on the right is younger, male and wearing a blue and orange scooter with a navy blue shirt, grey pants and a black scooter with orange handles and green wheels.

A red Crimson rosella with blue wings and a white beak sits perched on a tree branch surrounded by light-green leaves and the light blue sky. Image by Birdlife Hamilton - Crimson Rosella.

White Paper

Valuing Nature: Climate Action and the Economy

In Australia and around the world, there remains a perceived tension between environmental action and economic progress. But in fact nature, communities and economies are all interconnected, and one can’t thrive without the others.

Our new White Paper highlights the economic and scientific data that backs this up and discusses the way forward.

View the White Paper

Did you know?

Greening Australia and Bank Australia’s partnership

Greening Australia and Bank Australia share a common commitment to create a world where people and the planet thrive. Bank Australia is the only bank in the world with a conservation reserve.

The reserve is home to 225 native plants and 234 native animal species, with 2,117 hectares of habitat protected in perpetuity. Greening Australia works together with Trust for Nature to ensure the reserve is managed as an outstanding example of science-led conservation and restoration, community engagement and reconciliation in practice.