Next time you fly east out of Adelaide, keep an eye out for a gigantic “JESUS LIVES” message on the ground. It’s a formation of 1,500 different trees, each species native to South Australia.

This “declaration in trees” is the work of retired botanist and scientist, Brendan Ley, and his wife Elizabeth who share a lifelong passion for native flora and vegetation– and for Jesus.

Brendan purchased the land in Bondleigh in the mid 1970s and named it Wirilda, an Aboriginal word for native wattle. The couple don’t live on the property but have worked for close to 40 years to re-vegetate the 100-acres with native plants.

In 1974, the Leys were inspired to use their acreage to make a bold statement about their Christian faith. And what better statement for two pairs of green hands than planting trees?

They set to work on creating a tree-lined formation of the words ‘Jesus Lives’, so large it would be seen from the planes they saw flying over their property. They turned to Christian bumper stickers for the words to use in their new tree project, but found them “too preachy”, says Brendan.

“In the end we thought Jesus Lives was as good a message as any,” says Ley. Also, ten letters were more than enough, with each letter expected to be 80 meters long.

Over several weekends, the couple paced the property, using old tyres to mark out key points on the letters, and stomping the grass in between. “We felt like children, learning how to draw,” says Ley.

Once the plotting was done, they went up in a friend’s plane to check their work, and take a photo. Back on the ground they made some adjustments, then started to plant.

Working with South Australian blue gum, dry land tea tree, acacias and mallee box, they planted 100-150 seedlings in each letter formation. Each letter took a painstaking 3 to 4 days to complete. Then they waited.

Brendan and Elizabeth kept track of the formation each time they or friends flew over the area. “Once, we saw that the “V” had lost some trees and wasn’t doing so well. We fixed that in a hurry –  we couldn’t have a message proclaiming Jesus Li_es! ” says Brendan.

The Leys have continued to re-vegetate their property, planting more than 25,000 seedlings to date. Neighbouring properties have followed suit, helping to bring back native plants and a lovely greenness to the area.

38 years from planting, the “JESUS LIVES” formation is fully grown, and can be seen from the air, and on Google maps. Ley says that every now and then the site draws some publicity as someone notices it from a plane window. He recalls hearing a radio interview in the early nineties when the South Australian bank crisis occurred. He says that then Reserve Bank governor, Bernie Fraser, saw the “JESUS LIVES” site as he flew over it, and thought to himself, “Maybe there is some hope for the state.”

On another occasion, someone from a Christian ministry flew over the area at a time of personal difficulty, and wrote to the Leys to say how encouraged he’d been when he saw the message.

“You never know how people are impacted by what you do,” says Brendan Ley quietly.