Sure it's cold, but why are the trees turning blue?!

Gilgandra is the latest Western Plains location to take part in the Blue Tree Project, painting a dead, local tree blue just last week.

The Blue Tree Project is a charity helping change the way we talk about mental health after the tragic loss of Western Australian man, Jayden Whyte to suicide in 2018.

Blue trees have popped up, not just all over Australia but across the world.

The Blue Tree Project aims to help spark difficult conversation and encourage people to speak up when experiencing mental health concerns.

Gilgandra Shire Council said they would like to acknowledge Bendigo Bank in Gilgandra for their community contribution towards this Blue Tree Project which was painted by local painter, David Corcoran of Paint’n’Plus.

Mr Corcoran said that painting the tree wasn't as simple as it may seem.

"It's been the pipeline for a while but we couldn't find the right tree for the purpose. That's actually the second tree that we looked at," he said. "Some of the other ones just didn’t have any character."

"The one we ended up with is in a really good spot about 3km from town and right on the stock route. A local guy rang me and said I should check it out and when I went out there, it was just so much better. It was a tree with a bit of personality."

Painting apprentice, Kyzack Corcoran from Gilgandra's Paint'n'Plus had an unusual job to tackle last week, painting a tree blur for mental health awareness.

It wasn't a typical painting job for Mr Corcoran and his team, and preparation was required such as pruning the tree and hiring a cherry picker to reach the top.

"We were flying blind as far as how long it would take and the cost," he said. "Bendigo Bank were in there funding it and then council came on board and also helped out. Being a small community everyone pitched in and then I kind of organised everything from there,"

"I had heard of the charity and I knew that it was for mental health, but I didn't realise there were so many blue trees around. When the guy who pruned the Gilgandra tree for me went away the next weekend, he said he saw them everywhere."

Mr Corcoran said it took about 40 litres of paint to complete the blue tree and it should stay that way for 10 - 15 years.

"Even then, it will still be blue, just faded a bit," he said. "There was a lady who was very much part of the Gil community who struggled with mental health and has since passed away from cancer. I believe there will be a metal chair placed in her honour near the Visitor Centre with the coordinates of the tree on it so people can come and check it out."

There are several other blue trees across the Western Plains including at Cobar, Coonabarabran, Coonamble and Walgett.

You can visit Gilgandra's new Blue Tree on the Castlereagh Highway, 1km from the Newell Highway turn off.

For more information, including a complete list of locations of Blue Trees, click here.