Lismore Council unveils latest upcycled Christmas tree

Lismore City Council has unveiled its iconic sustainable city Christmas tree. This is the eighth year of Lismore’s upcycled Christmas tree being proudly displayed on the corner of Keen and Magellan streets, following a one-year hiatus after the 2022 flood disaster.

Lismore City Council General Manager Jon Gibbons said the return of the iconic sustainable tree marked a significant recovery milestone.

‘Our community of local families and businesses have been investing heavily in backing Lismore and we are committed to backing them this Christmas,’ he said.

‘The return of this tree is a symbolic representation of our resilience and the spirit of this community. It showcases that we are re-open for business while offering how to reimagine and renew with some hard work,’ said Mr Gibbons.

‘I want to thank the Council officers involved in creating this year’s tree which we hope both inspires, educates and brings joy and activity to our City and community.’

Upcycling, Lismore style

Beyond recycling, upcycling involves the creative reuse of materials to give them a second life. This year’s Lismore tree features a mosaic of upcycled materials.

It includes shimmered interlocked hearts from silver foil-lined insulation matting, geotextile fabric transformed with festive red and green paint, orange barrier mesh from the Council’s roads team, rainbow carpet base, and CDs and DVDs repurposed into garlands, all recovered from the Lismore Revolve Shop.

Council’s Waste Education Officer Victoria Currie said the tree also includes donations from the community.

‘It features leftover white render trim from a waste team member’s landscaping project and a radiant gold star, crafted from scrap metal by Council’s welder and adorned with gold powder coating, donated by a local business,’ she said.

‘While the majority of the tree is built from recovered materials, certain new elements like paints, screws and fairy lights have been incorporated to complete the design.’

Mrs Currie says the project was supported by an incredibly collaborative approach of staff from different areas of Council. ‘The tree is more than a festive decoration, it is our own contribution to backing Lismore, a gift to local business and community, crafted by teams in their own time,’ she said.

Surrounding the tree this year are banners that promote the Back Lismore campaign which Lismore Council says is a response to the community’s call for a shift in narrative from ‘flood city’ to ‘open’; a call to action and a storytelling platform aimed at reigniting excitement and pride in the Lismore region.