Blue tree made of old police batons unveiled at Albany police station

Albany police unveiled a sculpture of a blue tree made from old police batons designed to inspire conversations about mental health at Albany police station on Friday. Great Southern Det-Insp. Rhonda Alexander said the project was “fitting” after the team experienced a loss in February. She said she was inspired to repurpose their old police batons after seeing painted blue trees around the Great Southern. “We got new equipment for some of our police officers in the Great Southern and I wondered what we might do with these old batons,” Det-Insp. Alexander said. “. . . Driving around the district and seeing the blue trees on the roadside and in the fields and in the paddocks, I thought maybe we could do something like that.” The idea came together in November after Det. Inspector Alexander made a trip to Bunnings for some blue paint and stopped into local landscaping business Designer Dirt for a chat. “I went down there and I asked them if they would consider helping me with this project, and they were really generous with their time, and we came up with this fantastic project,” she said. Det-Insp. Alexander said the sculpture was placed in the station’s main thoroughfare to encourage officers to reflect on their mental health when they see it. “Behind each blue tree lives a story and the Blue Tree Project was founded with a mission to help spark difficult conversations and encourage people to speak up when they’re experiencing mental health concerns,” she said. “Mental health means different things to all of us, and often our mental health can be shaken for a list of reasons, which is not exhaustive. “Police aren’t immune, we recruit from the human race. “We suffer mental health challenges as much as the next person, and I want to make sure that our people know that they’re supported.” The officers celebrated the unveiling with a sausage sizzle.