Rohan Smith and Paul Delgallo, co-directors from G. J. Gardner Homes Geelong are generous supporters of local community groups and their tree planting projects. This year, the duo purchased 1,125 trees (plus guards) for the Bellarine Peninsula.

G.J. Gardner prides itself on being a practical, hands-on family affair, and in past years, staff have happily gone out with their local community to plant their trees themselves. Local Landcare groups determine the best tree species for the site. The seedlings themselves are grown by local independent nurseries who have collected seed from the region. The sites that have been planted in the past have included nature reserves, parklands, roadsides, school grounds, riverbanks & rural properties.

Gardner Homes Geelong are very proud to have supported Fifteen Trees for the past 10 years which has resulted in over 11,000 trees being planted that will benefit the community and the planet.

Given our industry produces CO2 emissions with the numerous products that go into building our beautiful homes, it’s great to know that we are also assisting with the reduction of these emissions by supporting Fifteen Trees and the fantastic work that they do.

Darryn Beckwith-Smith | General Manager | G.J. Gardner Homes Geelong

G.J. Gardner’s core business is building homes. Safe, secure places for families to grow and thrive for many years to come. We love that alongside this, G.J. Gardner Homes is planting forests, which is very much the same thing; safe, secure places for fauna and flora to grow and thrive for many years to come.

Site A | Swan Bay | 400 trees

The native trees and shrubs were planted by Chris Crawley and the Bellarine Catchment Network (BCN) to help rehabilitate the Swan Bay coastal vegetation reserve. Seventeen (17) people attended the planting day adjacent to Swan Bay Ramsar Wetland. Participants were shown the correct planting methods and provided with information on the value of indigenous plants and how they provide food, shelter and protection of migratory wader birds.

Site B | Geelong |  700 trees

The trees at this location were planted by Bronwyn Merritt and the Geelong Landcare Network (GLN) over the course of a few weeks in July. The aim of the planting is to increase the biodiversity of the area and replace introduced species with local indigenous ones, leading to an increase of biodiversity and habitat for local fauna.

Some of the species included: Acacia Lightwood, Black Sheoak, River Bottlebrush, River Red Gum, Yellow Gum and Manna Gum.

Many thanks to Rohan and Paul for their continued support over the past 10 years. A decade of giving back to their local community and environment.

Here at Fifteen Trees, we are always happy to have a chat about the best way to incorporate CSR into your organisation. It’s a lovely way to connect with the broader community and reduce some of your company’s environmental impacts. If interested, please contact Colleen at <[email protected]>.

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, Colleen is the Founding Director of Fifteen Trees. In 2009, after 20 years in primary, 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, schools and environmental networks.