G.J. Gardner Homes has been supporting our community tree planting projects since 2013, and in that time, we have planted over 80,000 trees across Victoria and Tasmania due to their generous support.

Scott Doughty and Judy Corcoran from G.J. Gardner Homes Mornington are longtime supporters of local community groups and their tree planting projects. This year Scott, Judy and their team purchased 360 native trees (and tree guards) for the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation (MPKC) and their Somers Koala Habitat Project.

The trees were planted on Sunday July 31st, National Tree Day (NTD) under the Eagle Chairlift at Mt Martha, VIC.  Around 40 volunteers from the surrounding community attended the morning’s event. The trees were a mixture of species, all indigenous to the district. They included; sheoaks, banksia, messmates, gums, paperbarks, hakeas and wattles. MPKC ensured a selection of koala habitat trees such as Manna Gums and Narrow-leafed Peppermint were included.

The Somers Koala Habitat Project (Coolart to Cerberus Biolink) is a wonderful project to support. Over 70% of landholders have confirmed their intent to participate and the project is also backed by Mornington Peninsula Shire, Parks Victoria and the Department of Defence. And now with sponsors such as Fifteen Trees and G.J. Gardner Mornington, this revegetation project is growing by leaps and bounds.

Why is this project so important:

• Recent research from Deakin University suggests that the koala population has been negatively impacted by the highly fragmented nature of habitat on the Mornington Peninsula,
• By providing a wildlife corridor biolink it will allow animals including koalas to move safely, to reach vital food resources and help maintain viable populations,
• Without this, koala populations will inevitably continue to decline, become isolated and may face local extinction.

Activities such as tree planting days, not only encourages people out into the great outdoors but it also brings about a sense of purpose and pride when they achieve a mighty feat, such as planting 360 trees. Not to mention the added bonus of the benefits of group participation and physical exercise.

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. Thank you to Scott and Judy for your continued support since 2016.

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.