By Sarah Halfpenny
A BRIGHT blue cypress tree trunk now stands as a symbol of hope on Hotham Street in Sorrento, marking the arrival of the Blue Tree Project to the Mornington Peninsula.
The tree, located at McFarland Reserve near the Sorrento Football and Netball Club, was painted as part of a global initiative to raise mental health awareness.
The Blue Tree Project started as a grassroots movement in Western Australia in 2019, following the death of Jayden Whyte by suicide in 2018. It has since grown into a worldwide movement, with 1,600 blue trees now registered in Europe, the USA, the United Kingdom, South America and even Antarctica.
Brian Stacey, Community Services Chair at the Rotary Club of Sorrento, said the local project grew from the vision of a former club president.
“My dear friend, Derek Ryan, was travelling around Australia and came across this blue tree in the middle of nowhere,” Stacey said. “He was curious and discovered the Blue Tree Project.
“When Derek passed away from ill health last year, I made it a pledge to complete the job he’d set out to do. He was very much a community-minded guy. I picked up the reins to bring the project to fruition over the past 12 months, with the help of the council and locals,” Stacey told The News.
The Cyprus tree that was chosen was originally scheduled for removal as part of netball court relocation works at the reserve. The tree was debarked and painted with the project’s signature shade, named Blue Tree, supplied free of charge by Wattyl Paint.
Next to the tree, a sign is held by two bollards, each bearing a plaque. One acknowledges Derek Ryan’s work. The other is a memorial to an official at the Sorrento Football Club who took his own life, adding an unplanned poignancy to the location.
“The tree is well-placed. It’s somewhere that young kids and older people will see it. It’s part of this community hub,” Stacey said. “It’s an extension of that, to raise awareness about mental health.”
Several volunteer groups and businesses from across the community pitched in to help with the project. The Pt Nepean Men’s Shed created the timber bollard frame, made from recycled ironbark donated by the council from Fisherman’s Pier in Mornington. David Leiper from iD Signs produced the sign, Tim from TITO Tree and Garden Care debarked the tree, and John Plumridge from Maw Civil organised the painting.
The blue tree serves as a visual reminder of the support available, sparking conversations around mental health and aiming to break the stigma.
Sorrento Rotary, supported by the Sorrento Sports Club and Mornington Shire, is hosting a launch event on 23 April at 11am at the Sorrento Football and Netball Club.
First published in the Mornington News – 21 April 2026
