Food security is something that should concern us all. Needless to say, it goes hand in hand with responsible environmental stewardship. One company that takes both issues very seriously is Skretting, a sustainability-award-winning world leader in the manufacture and supply of aquaculture feed.

In lay terms, Skretting makes fish food. In a big way. It does this with an eye firmly on the world’s rising population and increasing dependence on human intervention in seafood production. Research shows that aquaculture production is set to more than double in the next thirty years. In an increasingly unstable climate and in the face of diminishing natural resources, raising seafood for consumption needs responsible, forward-thinking people on the frontline. Luckily, as Sustainability Manager Trygve Berg Lea says, ‘Skretting is well aware that we need to reduce the pressure put on the planet’s resources’.

Skretting’s primary focus is on its research and development of sustainable aquaculture feed, but it also places a high value on the saying, ‘think global, act local’. One of its recent initiatives involves partnering with Brighton Council, Fifteen Trees and a number of other groups to plant 1217 native plants at Polonia Bridge Park in Brighton, Tasmania. Polonia Bridge Park is a community space bordering the Jordan River.

In many ways this project is a good fit for Skretting, as the value behind community plantings is firmly based on extensive research. This shows that the connection between people and their natural environment has real world implications for health and well-being.

As Marcus says:

‘Many people are aware that plant landscapes absorb and store carbon, one of our biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses. What is becoming apparent is that these environments are also incredibly important for human wellbeing.  Well respected research throughout the world over the last fifteen years, is increasingly demonstrating that being close to natural environments is good for your health’.

Like the aquatic systems Skretting works with, natural landscapes are incredibly complex, layered ecosystems. The plants bound for Polonia Bridge Park comprise a selection of indigenous grasses, shrubs and trees that will form a solid matrix for future plantings. They will contribute to community well-being, cleaner air, wildlife habitat, soil stability and water filtration for many years to come.

Skretting’s mission statement is ‘Feeding the Future’. In Polonia Bridge Park, Skretting is helping feed the future in a very different, but equally as valuable way.

Here at Fifteen Trees, we are always happy to have a chat about the best way to incorporate CSR into your organisation. It’s a lovely way to connect with the broader community and reduce some of your company’s environmental impacts. If interested, please contact Melinda at <[email protected]>.

Writer – Sarah Hart.

Sarah is an artist whose passions include the stories and experiences of women and narrative driven creative work. Her aim is to delight, to reveal glimpses of everyday beauty, and to celebrate flights of the ordinary. Sarah works across a range of media, with an abiding interest in pen and ink, mixed media and the human form. You can find Sarah here.

Brighton 1611 trees / Skretting 1217 / Hobart Airport 394