The Viatek Group is a services-based organisation, offering business solutions for print, scanning & technology. With over 17 offices operating within Victoria & NSW, it makes them the largest regional supplier of managed print services, backed with local technicians on site.

The team at Viatek Warragul have been supporting local tree planting projects since 2019 and to date have purchased 915 trees for local community groups. These trees are forming part of regeneration and habitat projects where they will grow to stabilise soil, provide shade and food to native fauna, and encourage biodiversity.

Viatek people live and breathe the community which means, they support local businesses and community initiatives. This is carried out through recycling, conserving energy, preventing pollution & minimising waste through supporting tree planting in Victoria with Fifteen Trees. Viatek understands that ‘being green is not just a potential competitive business advantage, it is also a good way to reduce costs and create more streamlined business processes’. 

2023 | 180 trees

The trees were planted by members of the Mt Worth and District Landcare Group at a site south of Warragul at the foot of Mt Worth and the Strzelecki Ranges. The original home of the Kulin and Kurnai aboriginal people. They were a mixture of indigenous native trees, shrubs and grasses provided by Grand Ridge Nursery in Seaview, Victoria. Species include, Manna Gums, Strzelecki and Blue Gums and other indigenous species associated with the Wet and Damp Forest of the Strzelecki Ranges.

This new reserve has been fenced to exclude cattle and will help protect the water source that is a tributary of Bear Creek and the Moe River, which feeds into the Lakes system in East Gippsland. The new planting beautifies the site, whilst improving the biodiversity of the area.  The district currently supports habitat for the Australian Wood Duck, Blue Wren, Willie Wagtail, Straw-necked Ibis and White-faced Heron in addition to a colony of frogs and burrowing crayfish. This plantings also supports koala habitat.

The trees, shrubs and grasses will continue to encourage and protect the movement of native animals via a wildlife corridor that links to the dam, connecting to fenced gullies that have been previously planted with support of the local Landcare Group.

We are most grateful for providing the native plants along with the ongoing financial support. This support has enabled us to improve the footprint of the land and offer a safe haven for wildlife.

Marg Cornwell & Jules Mehegan | Members | Mt Worth Landcare

2022 | 180 trees

This year, Viatek’s trees were once again planted by Mt Worth Landcare Group, and in particular by Cameron McDonald and his family. The Landcare group determine the best location and species for the planting site and give guidance and assistance to the landowner. The seedlings themselves are grown by local independent nurseries who often collect seed from the region by hand. In this case, the trees were sourced from Grand Ridge Propagation at Seaview.

At the planting site, the group are aiming to re-vegetate on the steepest of slopes, not only to provide habitat for the native wildlife, but to also help control erosion. Long term, these trees will build up new ecosystems which will support many forms of flora and fauna. This year’s trees were planted as part of a 500+ tree wildlife corridor, of which Viatek generously purchased 180 trees for the project.

2021 | 180 trees

Despite the Covid lockdowns this year, the Tetoora Road Community Centre (TRCC) has managed to plant an additional 180 trees and shrubs indigenous to West Gippsland.

These plants are a great addition to previous year plantings and added to the planting out of the bank along the western edge of these community grounds.

Assistance from the students at the Warragul Special School in August resulted in the clean-up of fallen and wind damaged trees from previous plantings. The school students provided important labour for this task and made short work of planting and clean up tasks. The work experience gained by the students provided them with the confidence to tackle further landscaping tasks as well as demonstrating the contribution these students can make to the community.

2020 | 180 trees

At Mt Worth in West Gippsland, Robert East and his team from the Mt Worth and District Landcare Group got busy planting 180 trees with landcare members.

The aim across the region was threefold;

• to revegetate steep pastoral areas and protect them from landslips,
• to prevent erosion in creek lines and
• to improve habitat for native wildlife such as lyre birds, platypus, Giant Gippsland earthworms and native species such as the Burrowing Crayfish.

2019 | 195 trees

This year, Branch Leader, Paul Lecher and his team supported Fifteen Trees projects to the tune of 195 trees. The trees were planted by Craig Kenny and the Mt Worth Landcare group in Gippsland, VIC.

Craig Kenny has only lived in the area for the last 18 months but is coming to grips with the districts steep heart-break hills. He has a west facing hill on his property which is problematic as it is the driest part of the land and is subject to land slips caused by underground water flow. Planting on these hills required stout legs and a strong heart. Craig has both! Craig planted the 195 trees himself and used two types of protection to guard against the wallabies and wombats. Both systems will provide terrific protection to the young trees.

Thank you to Viatek for buying our trees for this particular project with Craig.

Robert East | Secretary | Mt Worth Landcare Group

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can take many forms but for us … tree planting hits a number of targets!

• Community groups benefit as they receive free trees for their projects.
• The environment benefits as trees mean habitat for the native insects, birds, reptiles and mammals.
• And companies benefit too. ‘Through CSR programs, companies can help society while promoting their own brands. Corporate social responsibility can boost morale and can help both employees and employers feel more connected with the world around them’. (www.investopedia.com).

It’s perhaps not surprising that a company specialising in efficient systems should understand that it is, in itself, part of a system. A social, economic, and human system, one that ultimately needs to recognise its environmental stewardship role in order to prosper. We are glad that Viatek takes its responsibilities seriously and applies them to its own business practices, and more than happy to help it reduce its impact by planting trees.

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 – 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.