Margaret Mead had it right when she wrote about the power of the collective! And here at Fifteen Trees we have seen the power of the collective with this particular planting.

Over the course of the year, 12 businesses/organisations collectively purchased 230 trees which were planted across 2 Victorian sites; Axe Creek and Campaspe Valley.

The Red Light Lab was created in order to help customers access high-quality Red Light & LED devices without breaking the bank. Red Light therapy has emerged as a pillar in holistic treatments, ensuring customers have the ability to address their health and wellness concerns.

The products are designed with science and wellness in mind, in order to enhance customers physiological concerns. The technology is grounded in scientific research that suggests exposure to Red light & LED wavelengths can trigger a range of benefits, like improved skin health, enhanced muscle recovery, reduced inflammation and even mood elevation. (10 trees)

We decided as part of our commitment to help people heal and be their best selves, we wanted to do something to show our commitment to other initiatives. There is nothing better than giving back to the environment, a place that needs a lot of love and care to flourish – just like our customers. We decided to encourage our customers to also give back, by adding a tree planting option at our checkout.

Zachery Lazuras | Owner | Red Light Lab

The Visualise Your Thesis 2023 Programme saw 23 entrants from around the world, all presenting their graduate research projects in engaging 60 second videos. Congratulations to everyone who reached the international round of Visualise Your Thesis 2023. (15 trees). 

As a thank you to the judges, we have organised the planting of 15 native trees on behalf of: 

• Dr. David Phipps – AVP Research Strategy and Impact, York University & Director, Research Impact Canada 
• Dr. Siouxsie Wiles – Associate Professor, University of Auckland 

Eleanor Colla | Visualise Your Thesis Team | University of Melbourne

Sasha at Hello Tomato Studio periodically purchases trees to help reduce the carbon footprint of her creative studio. Sasha is a Melbourne based artist specialising in hand painted murals and whimsical illustrations. (15 trees)

Faucet Strommen are giving their customers the option to have a native tree planted when they purchase premium Australian made tap-wear. (15 trees)

Trees are beautiful. They are an essential component of life on earth, providing protection and food for birds and small animals and oxygen for life. Every Faucet Strommen owner can now be part of our exciting Plant a Tree program! When you register your products for warranty, simply tick the box to request a tree to be planted on your behalf and we promise to make it happen.

Ketsia Sellars | Marketing | Faucet Australia

Alice & Ivy Property Styling is an interior design Hub specialising in bespoke Interior styling & home staging. Property staging is a fantastic way to positively contribute to the environmental impact as goods are utilised time and time again to prepare homes for sale. The flip side, sadly our real estate partners still very much rely on letterbox drops, large scale signage and handouts to prospective buyers. To combat this, Alice & Ivy donate 1 tree for every home staged. To increase their ‘green cred’, the company also avoids using single use materials to transport good and aims to work with Australian producers and businesses to source products. (25 trees)

We identified across our business, the need to reduce our carbon footprint, and whilst most of our business is digital, we still wanted to do our part as goods are purchased and sent to clients. We can’t always avoid plastic packaging. We love working with Fifteen Trees and will continue to do so into the future.

Ally | Owner | Alice & Ivy Property Styling

The Acacia Tree in Brighton, VIC specialises in handmade and high quality furniture such as beds, dining room tables, entertainment units and chairs. With every furniture item sold, we plant one native tree. (20 trees).

All of the timber used for our furniture comes from sustainably managed forests. However, we don’t believe that it’s enough to just leave things as we found them, we want to leave the world a better place.

Luke | Owner | The Acacia Tree

Ryans IGA Community Rewards in Ballarat annually support our tree planting projects for which we are very grateful. (30 trees)

As part of the Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP) Panel Series on Interdisciplinary data-intensive research: Working with and embracing complexity, in November 2023 we brought together a panel including Karen Thompson (Senior Research Data Specialist, MDAP), Joanne Birch (Lecturer, Herbarium Curator, School of BioSciences, Faculty of Science), Ailie Smith (Manager Digital Stewardship – Research, Student and Scholarly Services) & Jared Winton (Senior Data Solutions Specialist, Research Computing Services, Business Services) to answer these questions: What does ‘data preservation’ mean in regard to keeping knowledge & data safe? How is ‘data preservation’ enacted in research institutions? The panel explored why data preservation matters, and issues we need to consider when working in complex data ecosystems, such as the University of Melbourne. (15 trees)

We appreciate giving a sustainable and meaningful gift to our presenters. This has been well-received without exception and will continue to be a way that we can say thank-you as well as make a small difference.

Andrew Siebel | PhD Platform Manager | Melbourne Data Analytics Platform

Divine Alchemy Yoga with Ash Bedford is a ‘nurturing sanctuary dedicated to guiding individuals on their profound healing journey, fostering spiritual growth, and unveiling new opportunities for self-discovery’. (15 trees).

JH Projects is a family owned construction company whose ‘quality of service, sustainability and innovation make the company industry leaders’. (25 trees)

Earnest & Young have gifted some trees for their Christmas team meeting. Congrats to the hard working staffer who scored 15 native trees, rest assured, your trees will be well looked after over the summer months. You can find them anytime by typing CCASS EY into the search box on the website. (15 trees)

Site A | Axe Creek, VIC | 100 trees

The trees were planted at Axe Creek on property Dja Dja Wurrung land, known as djandak. The site has a Trust for Nature covenant on it, to preserve it in perpetuity. The Campaspe River and Mosquito Creek run through the site.

 

Due to long-term grazing, the understory had been destroyed with very little native grass, native shrubs or flowers remaining. The beautiful big old eucalypts are intact though. Close to the river are the iconic River Red Gums and higher up, away from the river, it is mainly Grey Box, many of which are large and very old with numerous hollows. Three of these trees are registered scar trees.

Thank you to everyone for enabling the planting of these native trees in Central Victoria, the home of the River Red Gums and the iconic Tawny Frogmouth.

Site B | Campaspe Valley, VIC | 130 trees

The trees were planted by the Campaspe Valley Landcare Group in a district that stretches north from Kyneton to Lake Eppalock and incorporates traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung and the Taungurung Aboriginal groups.

This whole landscape has been cleared since the 1840s. It was never densely forested, instead supporting open woodland (scattered trees). But it has been heavily grazed since the earliest European settlers and is still grazed. These trees will one day provide roosting & nesting sites for the local bird fauna such as Grey Fantails and Spotted Pardalotes.

Thank you to those people who are prepared to donate, even tho they do not see the direct results of their contributions.  It reminds me of one of my favourite sayings – Perfect goodness is to do without fuss (or anonymously) what one would be capable of doing in front of the whole world, Francois de la Rochefoucauld (1613-1680).

David Cheal | President | Campaspe Valley Landcare

Some of the tree species planted included; Wattles (Silver, Lightwood, Hedge, Golden), Eucalyptus (White Box, River Red Gum, Yellow Gum, Grey Box, Swamp Gum, Manna Gum, Candlebark), Bulokes and Drooping Sheoaks.