Ascot Mortgage is a North Melbourne-based mortgage brokerage that has been helping Australians navigate home loans for over 15 years. From first home buyers to investors and those looking to refinance, the award-winning team prides itself on making the lending process straightforward and on relationships that don’t end at settlement.

This is a business built around people. So when Ascot Mortgage decided to do something for the planet, it made sense that they’d link it directly to the work they do every day. For every new client they take on, five native trees are planted in Australia. Fifteen Trees is proud to be their planting partners.

At Ascot Mortgage, we’re passionate about helping people achieve the dream of home ownership. We also recognise that with every new home comes a shared responsibility to care for the communities and environment we all call home.

Our partnership with Fifteen Trees is a meaningful way for us to give back. By planting five trees for every settled home loan, we’re helping create a greener future while supporting the places where our clients live, work and raise their families. It’s a simple initiative that reflects our commitment to balancing business with positive environmental and community impact.

Nam Chau | Owner | Ascot Mortgage

Site 1 | Kororoit Creek, Brimbank, VIC | 200 trees

The native trees, shrubs and grasses were planted right in the heart of Melbourne with Friends of Kororoit Creek. The group is an active collection of volunteers working on a range of activities which aims to improve the health of the Kororoit Creek and its surrounds in the Brimbank area. Planting days take place throughout the months of winter and into spring. A variety of trees were planted, including River Red Gums, Golden Spray, Drooping She-oak, Lightwood plus numerous shrubs, grasses, ground-covers and wildflowers.

Historically, the creek would have been dotted with scattered trees, including River Red Gums. As part of Melbourne’s western plains, however, the landscape was predominantly native grassland, with Kangaroo Grass and a rich diversity of other grassland species. Across our sites, we are working to restore this biodiversity by reintroducing a wide variety of appropriate Indigenous plants, creating resilient habitat and helping the creek more closely resemble its natural ecological character.

The trees provide essential habitat for a wide range of local bird and insect species, and the group have seen a noticeable increase in biodiversity across the sites since beginning revegetation. The trees also provide valuable shade and shelter for wildlife and the wider community. Trees are a vital part of the ecological structure of the creek corridor, working together with mid-storey and ground-layer plants to create a balanced and interconnected habitat. As they mature, they will become even more valuable, providing opportunities for hollows to form – creating critical nesting and shelter sites for native wildlife.

A heartfelt thank you to Fifteen Trees and all of your generous sponsors for supporting the work of Friends of Kororoit Creek and other hardworking landcarers. Your contribution is helping us restore habitat along the creek, creating healthier ecosystems for local wildlife and a greener, more beautiful environment for our community. Every plant that goes into the ground carries so much hope, care and goodwill. With our ongoing commitment to nurturing these seedlings, your support will become part of an amazing transformation for Kororoit Creek! Something we can all be proud of!

Jessica Gerger | President | Friends of Kororoit Creek. 

Kororoit Creek is a precious sliver of green winding through the highly developed suburbs of Brimbank in Melbourne’s west. This narrow habitat corridor provides a vital refuge for a remarkable range of wildlife. Across the sites, Friends of Kororoit Creek have recorded wallabies, eel, rakali (native rats), turtles, lizards, snakes, and countless species of birds, insects, spiders and fungi.

This is a simple idea with a compounding impact. Every home loan, every refinance, every new financial relationship equals five more trees in the ground, five more contributions to restoring the native habitat that Australia’s wildlife depends on.

Writer: Colleen B. Filippa

With a background in Environmental Science (Melbourne Uni), Colleen is the Founding Director of Fifteen Trees. In 2009, after 20 years in secondary and tertiary education institutions, Colleen left the classroom to start the company. Fifteen Trees is a social enterprise assisting individuals and companies to reduce their carbon footprint by supporting community groups such as Friends of Kororoit Creek.