Here’s an interesting fact – you don’t have to be a big business to make a big impact. You can be a small business, even a tiny one, and still make a significant positive contribution to the environment. We already know that small businesses are vital for local economies, that they keep money in the community and support local interests in myriad different ways. They also provide opportunities for entrepreneurs, create meaningful jobs, and on the whole give greater job satisfaction than large corporations.

Small business is powerful! The key to making an environmental difference has nothing to do with size, and everything to with taking the right action, at the right time, with the right partners.

We have a handful of small businesses who purchase trees when they can. Small business owners are masters of ingenuity when it comes to incorporating tree planting into their business practices. Never underestimate small business. When it comes to reducing carbon footprints, they are a climate force to be reckoned with!

Since February, eight small businesses have partnered with Fifteen Trees to plant between 15-45 trees each. Totalling up to 285 trees. A huge thank you goes out to the following;

Roving Refills Frankston (15 trees). Servicing the south east suburbs in the City of Frankston, Mornington Peninsula and City of Kingston, Andrea Dunkley provides eco-friendly detergent refills. Helping to save the planet one refill at a time. Congrats to Andrea for completing her 10,000th refill.

Fair Food Forager (15 trees). The Fair Food Forager is the only app covering all elements of sustainable practice within the food industry. This app helps people connect with eco businesses. Recently, Hollyburton Organic Farm became a subscriber, and so Founder Paul Hellier purchased 15 trees as a thank you to the business.

Golden Nugget Discovery Tours (15 trees). Andrew offers small group personalised eco-tours that cover nature and wildlife, cultural heritage, sightseeing and wine tours. Andrew has been a supporter of Fifteen Trees for many years.

Studio Mel Sky (30 trees). Mel is a water colour artist, who draws inspiration from Australian flora and fauna in her Central Victorian surroundings. Mel is planting one tree for every 5 artworks sold. Thank you Mel for your on-going support.

Power Country Express (45 trees). With a run daily services to Bendigo, Castlemaine, Maryborough, Kyneton, Rochester and Echuca, as well as overnight services to Melbourne and on forwarding Australia wide. This trucking service has the country covered. Their services range from small one tonne vans through to B Double trucks. Thank you Emma for your support.

Green Design Solutions (45 trees). Janine Strachan is the director of Green Design Solutions. Janine is an expert in sustainable planning and building. Thank you Janine.

Proact (50 trees). Colin Petrie is the Fifteen Trees’ accountant. Every year, he kicks in for 50 trees. Terrific accountant. And a terrific team at Proact.

Flax Digital (70 trees). Alex is the go to person for all things digital. Thank you Alex.

Campaspe Valley, VIC <285 trees>

We planted all trees with the Campaspe Valley Landcare Group. This district in Central Victoria, has been substantially cleared over the past 100 years with only small remnants of native vegetation. The group aims to create habitat for local fauna.

Thanks to all supporters of Fifteen Trees, our Landcare group has been able to plan for our revegetation works for 2021.

This year we have concentrated mostly on regional roadsides and bushland blocks.

David Cheal | Communications Secretary | Campaspe Landcared

It might seem as though sponsoring a handful of trees won’t achieve much but when you realise there are many others out there also taking the same action … your contribution becomes part of a bigger picture. We’re all in this together. You don’t need a multi-million-dollar turnover, or ten thousand employees, or a warehouse the size of the MCG. You just need the desire to do good, and trust that others are doing the same.

Collective action can absolutely move mountains.

If you are also interested in how your business and Fifteen Trees could work together, contact Belinda at <[email protected]> and ask for a proposal that will fit in with your business model.

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.