General News
9 February, 2026
One Red Tree reaches 100-student milestone
ONE Red Tree Resource Centre has marked a major milestone this week, inducting its 100th student, with a total of 19 students joining the program this semester. Co-founder Tammie Meehan confirmed the organisation has now officially reached 103 provisional psychology students. The milestone highlights rapid growth since the program’s beginnings in 2021.
Their first placement involved a local provisional psychologist completing a Master of Clinical Psychology, who was supervised by the organisations other co-founder Carly McKinnis and placed at Stawell Primary School 502.
“One Red Tree wasn't even a thing. Carly was in private practice. I was acting principal at Stawell 502 Primary,” said Tammie.
The following year, One Red Tree was formally created, and since that initial placement in 2021, the organisation has expanded with provisional psychology placements across regional Victoria.
To date, the 103 provisional placements have supported well over one thousand primary, secondary and specialist students across more than 20 schools throughout the Pyrenees, Central Highlands, Grampians and Wimmera regions.
Strong partnerships have played a key role in the success of One Red Tree.
In 2024, the organisation formed a partnership with the Victorian State Government to pilot the program, strengthening support for schools and provisional psychologists.
Additional partnerships have been established with several universities, including Federation University, ACU and La Trobe University, along with long-standing support from Ararat Rural City Council and East Grampians Health Service.
The program has also seen students return for placements.
“We've actually got two students who've come back for their last placement, so they've come back a second time,” said Tammie.
One is undertaking an agricultural placement with a strong focus on farmer mental health, supporting those who work closely with farming communities.
“She is very passionate about farmer mental health. and working with those who work with farmers,” said Tammie.
“They're often faced with some difficult situations where they know somebody needs to seek help, but how do you go about it? How do you feel comfortable in being able to do that? And that's where she's passionate about that.”
Another student returning to complete a placement in aged care.
Of the 103 placements, three students have progressed to internships at Grampians Health Service and have since been retained as qualified staff, strengthening the local mental health workforce.
“It's exciting, actually. It just blows you away”, said Tammie.
The program’s long-term aim is to expose provisional psychologists to rural communities, providing vital mental health support while building a sustainable workforce pipeline in areas where services are limited.
Tammie said reaching the 100-student milestone has been a motivating achievement for the organisation.
“To be able to reach that is actually really motivating. And you want to just keep going and keep building,” she said.
Read More: Ararat