Michael Page is on a mission; to bring the world’s best employers and brightest professionals together. And to that end, they also want to give back to their community as well as reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing native trees as thank you gifts for their valued clients.

On Tuesday 11th October, myself along with Chris from Upper Goulburn Landcare Network and Roger from Kinglake Landcare together planted 50 trees  at Kinglake West (Taungurung Country) on the behalf of Michael Page. The trees and shrubs were a mixture of Silver Wattle, Sweet Bursaria, Musk Daisy Bush and Silky Golden Tip and sourced from a local native plant nursery.

One month later, another 30 trees were planted at the site by Chris and his team from Upper Goulburn Landcare Network.

The planting site sits on crown land that is being revegetated back to its original native vegetation state. The old pine trees and willows that had been a feature of the site, were removed to make way for the new plants.

Thank you to the team at Michael Page for coming to the support of our native environment by purchasing not only the trees but importantly the tree guards too. Tree guards help protect the new seedlings and protects them from grazers, in particular rabbits and kangaroos. Inside the plastic sleeves, a microclimate helps protect the new tree from harsh UV, drifting sand, frost, and wind. Once the seedlings survive their first summer and get the opportunity to develop a strong taproot, their chances of survival skyrockets.

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.