Established in 1978 CAVAL is a not-for-profit, member-driven library services consortium based in Melbourne. At CAVAL they aim to facilitate and enhance library services within Australia through strategies for active client engagement and sophisticated services and solutions. CAVAL develops and delivers ‘best of breed library and information solutions’ for stakeholders and support growth and innovation in the library and education communities.

The trees are a speaker gift to the following speakers and facilitators: Ashley Anderson, Brad Wood, Dr Rebecca Muir, Robert Gerrity, Roxanne Missingham, Felicity Macchion, Associate Professor Gavin Slemp, Holger Aman, Yvette Buerge, Ciaran Borthwick, Courtney Allingham, Peter Head, Mel Kidman, Maryanne Vagg, Carlo Iacono, Ian Wedlock, Professor Helen Partridge, Dr Leisa Gibbons, Christy Oldham, Jo-Anne Monaghan, Elise Kelly, Darren von Bergheim, Janet Luk, Barbara Parnaby, Dr Ellie Sayyad Abdi, Janette Wright, Scout Bell, Kate Houderrani and Annie Hudson.

CAVAL annually support our community tree planting projects by purchasing trees from Fifteen Trees to distribute to community groups to plant. This year, we planted 100 trees on their behalf.

Site A | Victor Harbour, SA | 90 trees

In 2021, a group of locals in Victor Harbour gathered informally and started talking about the state of the Hindmarsh River Estuary. What they saw concerned them deeply. Weeds choking the banks. Pest animals running unchecked. Native flora and fauna in steady decline. A beloved stretch of South Australian coastline quietly losing what made it special. Rather than look away, they did something about it. And so … Friends of Hindmarsh River Estuary was born from that conversation – a passionate volunteer group dedicated to restoring and protecting their corner of the world. Five years on, the results speak for themselves. Over 6,000 indigenous seedlings have been planted along the estuary, including 90 from CAVAL, bringing back the kind of native habitat that this remarkable place deserves.

At the core is the need for change as to how we think about and treat the river. There is a need to move beyond the concept of an economic resource ‘to take from’. Instead, we need to find a balance of the river and its environs treasured by all as the valuable ecological asset for future generations. Thank you to our supporters.

Mark Richards | Co-convenor | Friends of Hindmarsh River Estuary.

The species planted tell their own story – Manna Gum, Coastal Mallee and Cup Gum eucalypts, Drooping Sheoak, Kangaroo Thorn, Banksias, Melaleucas and Hakeas, alongside native grasses including Wallaby Grass, Pigface and Sedges. Each one chosen because it belongs in this place, and because the local wildlife depends on it.

The Hindmarsh River Estuary is home to some of South Australia’s most special birds – the Cape Barren Goose (featured photo/Charles J. Sharp), Elegant Parrot, Greater Crested Tern, Hooded Plover, Yellow Thornbill, Black-chinned Honeyeater and the magnificent Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo all nest in the area.

Site B | Kaarakin Cockatoo Reserve, Martin, WA | 10 trees

Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre at Martin, WA is a great organisation to support. Kaarakin is situated on a 41-acre bushland site, that was a former wildlife park. The site was once extremely degraded. The Kaarakin team have spent many years revegetating it back towards its former biodiversity rich state. At this stage, Kaarakin are focusing on replanting to create wildlife corridors for small species of mammals, reptiles and birds to safely travel through and back into the regional park adjacent (Banyowla Regional Park).

Kaarakin would like to thank supporters of Fifteen Trees. You have allowed us to turn our once degraded 41 acres into a safe wildlife corridor. The sheer number of species that have returned since we starting revegetating is amazing to witness.

We are already seeing the site provide food for all three of our endemic and threatened black cockatoos as well as the return of several small bird species such as Red Capped and Scarlet Robins, Western Spinebills and Yellow Rumped Thornbills

Sam Clarke | Animal Management Officer | Kaarakin

All three of the local endemic threatened black cockatoos visit this site to feed. They are the Baudins, Carnabys and Forest red tailed black cockatoos. The site is also frequented by some more common marsupials such as bandicoots and brush tailed possums. A variety of large and mid-story cockatoo foraging plants were planted. This included trees such as Marri and Jarrah, a variety of Hakeas and Bull Banksia and Ashby’s Banksia.

Thank you CAVAL for the additional funding for tree guards. These guards help protect the new seedlings and gives them protection from grazers, in particular rabbits and kangaroos. Inside the plastic sleeves, the microclimate created protects the seedlings from harsh UV, drifting sand, frost, and wind. Once the seedlings survive their first summer and get the opportunity to develop a strong taproot, their chances of survival skyrockets.

If you would like to know more about sponsoring community tree planting projects and how we can assist you in becoming a more sustainable business, please contact Colleen at <[email protected]>.

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 Landcare.