POTTSVILLE Public School students need not sit like city kids in a stuffy classroom to learn about ecology.

They today joined their community in revegetating the Pottsville Bicentennial Nature Reserve creek bank.

A group that included Tweed Shire Council bushland officer Tanya Fountain, sports club deputy chairman Trevor Bird, Hastings Point Dunecare members, and 35 students planted 135 native trees in the area.

Mr Bird said the large group "made light work of it" over two hours.

"We planted the local creek bank with things like banksias and blueberry ash - a general mix to encourage wildlife and create habitat," he said.

"It absolutely looks better than before already, though there's still a few gaps to fill."

He said stakes and guards had been tied to the saplings in order to keep away wallabies and rabbits.

Miraculously the group was able to plant without being bothered by the rain.

"It poured before we started, and then again after, so the trees are well-watered," Mr Bird said.

"Nobody got a splinter; we had a good hazard plan in place before we started."

The students had an ecology lesson during the planting, such as learning not to plant certain things together, he said.

"The area had been a bit of an eyesore before.

"It had lantana all through it, and we found a few old cricket balls from when the nets were on the ground there too."

The council's contractors cleared the area of weeds and encroaching garden plants prior to the revegetation.

Students will be able to follow the native plants' progress during their school lives and beyond.