Millers Bread Kitchen isn’t just known for its fresh loaves and handmade pastries – it’s also quietly growing something beyond the bakery doors. Each week, the bakery funds the planting of one native tree through Fifteen Trees, which in turn supports local revegetation projects and gives back to the community it serves.

By choosing to plant regularly, the bakery is helping to restore habitat, strengthen local biodiversity, and care for the natural landscapes that make the Peninsula so loved. For their customers, every visit comes with a little extra goodness: the knowledge that a simple purchase is helping a greener, healthier community take root.

Sunshine Reserve, Mornington Peninsula | 60 trees | 2026

Over the course of National Tree Day (last Sunday in July), Vanessa and family joined in with volunteers at Sunshine Reserve to plant a variety of native plants including – Sweet Bursaria, Swamp Gum, Manna Gum, Snow Gum, Caroline Range Gum, Snowy Daisybush, Spiny-headed Mat-rush, Short-stem Flax-lily, Kangaroo Grass, Veined Spear-grass, Pale Spear-grass, Tall Sedge, Kidney Weed, Ivy-leaf Violet, Native Raspberry, Black She-oak, Kangaroo Apple and Tree Everlasting.

As these plants establish and mature, they’ll rebuild the layered structure that a healthy bushland needs (canopy, under-storey, ground-cover) providing food and shelter for wildlife, stabilising soil, filtering water and restoring the ecological balance that this reserve has been working toward for years.

The birds arriving back are perhaps the most visible sign that it’s working. Superb Fairy-wrens, Grey Fantails, Crimson and Eastern Rosellas, Yellow Robins, Pardalotes, Thornbills and Tawny Frogmouths are all re-establishing themselves in the reserve. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos have been spotted moving through the canopy. And both Southern Boobook Owls and Powerful Owls are making their presence known. Where owls hunt, the food chain is intact. And that’s a very good sign.

But planting days are never just about the trees. They’re about people too – coming together, learning from one another, and taking part in something that connects them to this landscape and its history in a way that very few other activities can.

Sunshine Reserve, Mornington Peninsula | 50 trees | 2025

Sunshine Reserve (Ballan Ballan Country) at Mt Martha, VIC is an important remnant bushland that supports local biodiversity and helps connect habitat corridors. It’s also a well-loved community space, and planting here strengthens both the environment and local stewardship.

We’re incredibly grateful to our generous sponsors for supporting this year’s planting. Your contribution helps restore vital bushland, strengthen biodiversity, and inspire a deeper connection between community and country. Thank you for helping us grow something truly lasting.

Angie Fly, Co-Ordinator Sunshine Reserve Conservation

It was here that 500 native trees shrubs and grasses were planted by members of the community, of which 50 were sponsored by Millers Bread Kitchen. The plants were a mixture of 20 species, including; Hop Goodenia, Common Apple-berry, Sweet Wattle, Common Correa, Coast Beard-heath, Silver Banksia, Drooping Sheoak, Coast Manna-gum, Swamp Gum and Black Sheoak.

Over time, these plants will improve local biodiversity by providing food and shelter for native birds, insects, and animals. They will also help stabilise soil, reduce erosion, support natural water filtration, and restore important layers of the original bushland ecosystem. Some of the native birds re-establishing themselves in the reserve include Superb Fairy-wrens, Grey Fantails, Crimson and Eastern Rosellas, Yellow Robin, Pardalotes, Thornbills, Tawny Frogmouths, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, Southern Boobook Owls and Powerful Owls.

We also thank the team for the additional funding for tree guards. These guards help protect the new seedlings and gives them protection from grazers, in particular rabbits and kangaroos. Inside the plastic sleeves, the microclimate created protects the seedlings 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.

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.