We love it when an already eco-conscious business goes some extra yards to protect Planet Earth.

Casa Beckahontas, owned and operated by Rebecca Briody, is nestled in the foothills of the Beaufort region, Wadawurrung Country. The accomodation is a 7-star energy rated AirBnB eco home, with spa, baths and gorgeous bush views. Rebecca is sponsoring our community tree planting projects by purchasing one native tree for us to plant for every guest.

I grew up on a farm at Skipton, attended high school at Loreto in Ballarat and many of my relatives are in the Beaufort/Lexton area. I found my passion in an environmental science degree studying across both James Cook University in Cairns and Federation University at Mt Helen. I am so lucky now to  be exploring a varied career in land and coastal management throughout Victoria. I enjoy nature, reading, travel and skateboarding. Creating Casa Beckahontas as an eco retreat has been such a pleasure for me. I developed the home with the help of Brett Martin at Martin Concept Designs, based on the passive Your Home Designs and Richard Goodwin from BuildGood brought the design to life. The home is energy efficient, incorporates recycled materials and focusses guests attention on the bushland and wildlife of Camp Hill.

I hope you enjoy your stay at my place.

Rebecca Briody | Owner | Casa Beckahontas.

Scotchmans Lead, VIC | 100 trees | 2024

The trees were planted at Scotsmans Lead, VIC (Wadawurrung Country) with assistance from the Napoleon Enfield Landcare Group (NELG) along Sykes Creek, an important tributary of the Yarrowee Creek.

These newly planted trees will:

• create shade along the river,
• provide shelter for aquatic life such as fish and even platypus,
• give protection from strong winds,
• protect the creek bed from the destruction of floods and
• provide habitat for the local wildlife such as echidnas, wallabies, possums and many species of birds and associated  invertebrate life such as dragonflies, bees and insects.

The Sykes Creek and Yarrowee River flows about 15 kms south of Ballarat, from there it flows down to Inverleigh, where it joins the Barwon Rover and flows out into Port Phillip Bay at Barwon Heads. It is the main river in the north of the Leigh catchment and is vital to connecting the landscape. The aboriginal name is Yaramlok. Some of the species of trees, shrubs and grasses planted include; Slender Tussock Grass, Austral Storks Bill, Blue silky grass, Woolly tea tree, Gold dust wattle and Chocolate lily. A beautiful mixture of trees, shrubs and grasses, all indigenous to the district and all sourced from local independent plant nurseries.

We are most grateful to the sponsors of our restoration work. Together we are recreating a healthy landscape for wildlife and people.

Jenny Ryle | President | Napoleon Enfield Landcare Group

Slaty Creek, VIC | 100 trees | 2023

We planted Rebecca’s trees at Slaty Creek (Dja Dja Wurrung Country) in the Western District of Victoria with the assistance of the Buloke and Northern Grampians Landcare Network. The trees were predominantly Buloke and Drooping Sheoak, 2 species of trees that dominated the landscape in the past.

Traditionally, this would have been Buloke Woodland – home to Red Tailed Black Cockatoos (which feed on Buloke seed pods) – now very rarely seen in this district.  The land was significantly cleared for agriculture and Buloke (one of the hardest woods in the world) was used as firewood and fenceposts. It’s not regarded as a particularly ‘pretty’ tree by the average farmer who also dislike it for its lack of fast development (it can take a hundred years to mature), and it readily succumbs to intensive agriculture activity. This particular site would once have been Buloke woodland.  Intensive farming has caused a natural degradation and there is significant erosion. This planting of 100 trees (part of a larger planting of 900 trees) will form part of a network of habitat bio-corridors for all sorts of native animals and birds, while this and successive plantings will also alleviate the issues of erosion.

A huge thank you to the sponsors of these trees. You are helping to build habitat, fix erosion, increase soil carbon; and hopefully, together we can bring back the Black Cockatoos!

Andrew Borg | Facilitator | Buloke and Northern Grampians Landcare Network

This beautiful commitment to furthering their clearly displayed love of the world we live in, is really terrific to see. We have such affinity with individuals who want to do their part in the communal responsibility we all have to preserve and enhance what we have with nature.

If you are interested in how you and Fifteen Trees could work together, contact Colleen at <[email protected]>.

Writer – Lou Ridsdale

Lou is a big fan of words and has been our Comms Manager since 2019.

She is a green thumb, Earth Lover, big-hearted nature freak, plus a savvy media and horticulture expert, who passionately believe that everyone can lead a more nourishing and sustainable life. Her passion for education + communication being the most empowering tool for change is reflected in her setting up her side hustle Hey Hoe Let’s Grow. She also founded Food Is Free Inc., a unique grassroots food security platform specialising in food security education. She fell in love with trees after reading The Magic Faraway Tree as a child.

You can find Lou here