Josh Tyrrell and his team from G.J Gardner Homes Warragul are generous supporters of local community groups, and their tree planting projects. Over this past year, they have purchased 450 native trees for revegetation projects in the Southwest Gippsland district.

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 location and species for the site. The seedlings themselves are grown by local independent nurseries who often collect seed from the region by hand. In this case, the trees were sourced from Grand Ridge Propagation at Seaview.

The trees were planted by members of the Mt Worth and District Landcare Group at a site south of Warragul at the foot of Mt Worth and the Strzelecki Ranges. The original home of the Kulin and Kurnai aboriginal people. They were a mixture of indigenous native trees, shrubs and grasses. Species include, Manna Gums, Strzelecki and Blue Gums and other indigenous species associated with the Wet and Damp Forest of the Strzelecki Ranges.

This new reserve has been fenced to exclude cattle and will help protect the water source that is a tributary of Bear Creek and the Moe River, which feeds into the Lakes system in East Gippsland. The new planting beautifies the site, whilst improving the biodiversity of the area.  The district currently supports habitat for the Australian Wood Duck, Blue Wren, Willie Wagtail, Straw-necked Ibis and White-faced Heron in addition to a colony of frogs and burrowing crayfish. This planting also supports koala habitat.

The trees, shrubs and grasses will continue to encourage and protect the movement of native animals via a wildlife corridor that links to the dam, connecting to fenced gullies that have been previously planted with support of the local Landcare Group.

We are most grateful for providing the native plants along with the ongoing financial support. This support has enabled us to improve the footprint of the land and offer a safe haven for wildlife.

Marg Cornwell & Jules Mehegan | Members | Mt Worth Landcare

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 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.

Writer: Colleen 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.