Ross Morley, Managing Director of G. J. Gardner Homes has been supporting our native environment (through Fifteen Trees) since 2013. By the end of this year, Ross and the team at GJG will have helped plant over 56,000 trees across Victoria and Tasmania. For every new home built, Fifteen Trees organises the planting of 15 trees in the local district. This year alone, the relationship between G.J. Gardner Homes and Fifteen Trees, will see over 11,000 trees planted by schools, landcare and various environmental groups.
The partnership with Fifteen Trees, allows G.J. Gardner teams to go into the field for some team building activities as well as giving some support to the local community.
Simon and Anyeta Spiteri from G.J. Gardner Homes Point Cook are generous supporters of local community groups and their tree planting projects. This year Simon and Anyeta purchased 315 trees for their local area. The trees were planted at Skeleton Creek, Hoppers Crossing (Vic) by NatureWest with the aid of Simon, Anyeta and the team from GJG.
We chose a site that was close to another major planting 2019 planting, so that preparation and post-planting maintenance could be done efficiently while the larger site was being attended to. The site sits along the bank of the Skeleton Creek, in Hoppers Crossing. It is part of a Melbourne Water managed block of about 5Ha which has become full of introduced weeds, following earlier agricultural clearing, and more modern industrial damage. It currently has a low value for levels of indigenous flora and fauna. It is intended to regenerate the entire site over the next ten years to restore it to a high value indigenous habitat, to allow an increase in indigenous fauna, and to turn it into a beautiful passive recreation area for the public.
Two NatureWest facilitators and three volunteers attended on the planting day. The holes were drilled prior to planting commencing, and stakes and guards were removed from the older plantings, to be re-used on the day. Six staff members from GJ Gardner attended at the set time of 1pm, and a safety and instructional briefing was delivered by NatureWest staff. Planting, and setting up stakes and guards for the entire 315 plants took about two hours. It was necessary to mount guards on all plants as the area still has a remnant rabbit population. Watering and tamping-in plants was done after the planting finished.
Following the planting session, afternoon tea was served from the NatureWest field kitchen, with tea and coffee, muffins, biscuits and fruit.
The planted area will be monitored for weeds over the 2019 Spring, and weeded where necessary. Four more waterings will be done over the spring and summer months to ensure as high a survival rate as possible.
Thank you to the team from G.J. Gardner for not only purchasing these trees but for coming out with us to plant on the day. Your efforts were very much appreciated.
Bruce Boddington | Co-ordinator | NatureWest
Thank you Simon and Anyeta for enabling this project to go ahead by purchasing 315 native trees and shrubs for this site. Thank you also for heading out on the day to actually plant the trees. Thank you to Bruce for finding a site and co-ordinating the planting with NatureWest.
Sláinte – Colleen
Colleen Filippa is the Founder and Director of Fifteen Trees. This year, Fifteen Trees celebrates 10 years. To be part of the movement of companies looking to make a tangible contribution to our community groups and our native environment, contact Colleen at <[email protected]> or on 0400 040 659.
Individual actions really do matter! Individually we can really only make small differences to the world around us, but collectively our numbers add up. And if enough individuals are involved then forests can be grown!
There are individuals and organisations at all levels, in all parts of the country, taking steps to protect our environmental inheritance. We can all join in. By taking many small steps, and working together, we truly can grow change.
Together with your generous support, we have planted 633 native trees to provide shelter, food, and protection for the Tawny Frogmouths, helping in their survival for generations to come.