Aaron and the team from Grill’d Ballarat take their burgers seriously. We love that we are given the option at their store to buy vegan and vegetarian burgers that are both delicious and kind to the planet. And they love to give back to their community. This is straight from their website – The greatest gift is the gift of giving money to those in need. We love to give back to the local communities we call home. 

Last month, Fifteen Trees was delighted to learn that we were being promoted for Local Matters at Grill’d Ballarat. That meant customers could vote for us by putting tokens into a jar with our name on it. We came up trumps and were awarded $300 for one of our tree planting projects. This equated to 90 native trees!

2023 | Grampians/Gariwerd, VIC | 100 trees

The trees were a mix of purposefully selected plants to compliment the birdlife, insects, and other creatures who call The Grampians their home. The trees were also selected to survive the cold winters and dry summers the mountainous terrain experiences. They will grow to varying heights (tall and understory) to ensure a variety of habitats for the local wildlife.

The trees will add to the amazingly diverse landscape consisting of gorge environs, steep rocky walls famous for rock-climbing, deep valleys, and undulating hills. They will provide homes and fodder for many species including the extensive bird life found there.

These birds need different trees to survive and we are thankful for the expertise of the Buloke and Northern Grampians Landcare Network (BNGLN) in their support in helping to plant these trees. We recently interviewed Andrew Borg, coordinator of BNGLN. You can read the interview here.

2018 | Westgate Park, VIC | 90 trees

Thank you Grill’d and customers for voting for us. Your trees (90) have been planted. They were planted at the Westgate Reserve by RMIT students and Friends of Westgate Reserve. This area (right under the Westgate Bridge) has been earmarked to be Melbourne’s lungs. More information can be found here at Parks Victoria.

2017 | Donald, VIC | 90 trees

With our $300, we contacted The Donald Field Club and offered them 90 trees for the revegetation works at the club. The trees were planted by Donald High School students as part of their Green School Week. Liz Russell from Banyandah Indigenous Nursery organised the trees for the group as well as the planting site.

We will be keeping an eye on these trees over the coming months in particular during the long hot summer that is predicted. Thank you Grill’d and Fifteen Trees for your contribution to our community.

Liz Russell | Owner | Banyandah Indigenous Nursery

Now back to those burgers! Are vegan and vegetarian burgers really better for the environment? YES! According to The Guardian, a vegetarian diet does deliver a decreased carbon footprint. But we need to look out for food miles (buying locally where possible) and only buy fruit and vegetables in season. Plus, food wastage is massive problem in this country.

Shout out to Aaron and Ballarat Grill’d for having such a great corporate social responsibility strategy through Local Matters. Image if all companies were this engaged with their local communities!

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.