Affirm Press is one of Australia’s fastest growing independent publishers. With over two hundred authors represented, and titles ranging from literary fiction to children’s books to autobiography, Affirm Press has well and truly made its mark and is in it for the long haul.

We’re stoked about it here at Fifteen Trees because Affirm Press has shown that it’s not only invested in the future of the publishing industry, it’s invested in the planet as well. This year, Affirm Press has planted another 500 trees with us. We think that’s a pretty significant commitment to a sustainable future, and a gesture well suited to an industry that relies on trees to produce its main product.

Herring Island + Grampians VIC | 500 trees | Aug 2022

Site A. Herring Island.

On Friday August 19th, the team from Affirm Press joined forces with ParksVIC and Friends of Herring Island to plant out 250 native trees, shrubs and grasses.

Herring Island became an island when a small peninsula in a bend of the Yarra River was cut off from the land in the 1930’s. It was pretty much left to its own devices (with the occasional visit from the Scouts) until 1992 when Friends of Herring Island was established.  Since then, this group (along with Parks VIC) have revegetated the island with species that are indigenous to the district. Friends of Herring Island meet up on the island on the first Sunday of the month. If you are interested in becoming a part of this group, rock up at the punt just down from Kanteen Cafe at 10.30am.

This planting was important for the island, for it helped us to extend the planting of previous years into new areas. It creates the biodiversity that is so lacking in inner Melbourne. It also introduces new people to the island as despite its close proximity to the CBD not many people come visit. So thanks to staff of Affirm Press for their enthusiastic work on Herring Island.

Stanley Barker | President | Friends of Herring Island

Site B. Grampians.

Another 250 trees were planted by the Buloke and Northern Grampians Network (BNGN) at a site adjacent to Kara Kara National Park. Gariwerd Country. These trees will provide a positive impact against climate change, build biodiversity, restore habitat and store carbon.

The trees were a mixture of red ironbark, yellow and grey box, and yellow and red gum, melaleucas and wattles, all indigenous to the area in which they were planted.

 Narmbool, VIC | 500 trees | May 2021

The trees were planted at Narmbool, a historic property in the Golden Plains Shire, on the traditional lands of the Wadawurrung people. Like most farming properties established in the goldfields region, Narmbool’s landscape has been drastically changed by human activity. Erosion, impaction, loss of species and habitat, and the depredations of introduced pests are the result.

Narmbool has been working hard since the 1980s to reverse the damage caused by mining and many decades of intensive sheep farming, and much of this involves revegetating degraded areas. We are proud to be part of this important project.

In partnering with Fifteen Trees Affirm Press goes one step further with its green thinking: it sends its close-knit team to get their hands dirty as part of a corporate planting day. We know that Affirm Press is all about building relationships, not one-offs. We love to see this ethos in practice in Affirm’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact, and we can’t think of a better way to cement working relationships than getting out on the soil and doing good.

Writer – Sarah Hart.

Sarah is an artist whose passions include the stories and experiences of women and narrative driven work. Her aim is to delight, to reveal glimpses of everyday beauty and to celebrate flights of the ordinary. Sarah works across a range of media, with an abiding interest in pen and ink, mixed media and the human form. You can find Sarah here.