golfers Mick and Sally Bannister. ▪ Photo contributed
Two blue trees on the Cobar Golf Course were painted for two purposes.
The two dead gum trees were painted by golfers, Sally and Mick Bannister, to brighten up the course but also to help people struggling with mental health problems.
“We had these two (well there’s more than two) dead trees and I thought they’re a bit of an eye sore,” Sally told The Cobar Weekly.
“I’d noticed some blue trees when we were travelling and wondered what they were.
“I was just going to paint them any colour to make them pretty.
“And then I found out the blue was for mental health and I thought, well why don’t we paint them blue.”
“We’ve got two, one on the front nine [between the 9th and 18th fairways] and one on the back nine [near the 14th].”
The Blue Tree began in Western Australia in 2014 and is now an international movement.
It was founded with a mission to help spark difficult conversations and encourage people to speak up when experiencing mental health concerns and has flourished into a charity helping change the way we talk about mental health.
Blue trees are dotted across every continent (apart from Antarctica) and are visual reminders to check in on loved ones and mates who might be struggling.
There’s also another blue tree in the Cobar area located at the Glenhope Bush Camp, east of town.
