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 Bendigo have been supporting local tree planting projects since 2015 and to date have purchased 1,980 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’s trees were planted during an event within the Bendigo Creek Streamside Reserve on Djaara country.  The site is significant to Northern Bendigo Landcare Group because it is part of our Bendigo Creek Habitat Restoration Project. This Project is ongoing, indeed the group have been working on it for the past 10 years. Their aim is to boost the ailing Creekline Grassy Woodland vegetation community.

This particular site had been revegetated in 2019 but was then lost to fire during January 2020 and NBLG have been replacing plantings since.  Some River Red Gums have survived, more have germinated due to the fire but very few shrubs or grasses remained.  The Landcare group have been holding group working bees to add mass plantings of native plants in exclusion plots for protection from rabbits. The group planted Lightwood Wattle, Black Wattle, Yellow Box and Golden Wattle that will provide shelter and food for local native animals such as sugar gliders, brushtail possums and honeyeater birds.

In September, the local Epsom Primary School reached out to NBLG.  The Prep class at the school were studying ‘how things grow’ and wondered if the Landcare group could help, so they were invited on site to learn about:

• indigenous native plants,
• the local fauna that rely on them,
• why they are vital to the health of the riverine environment and
• to help plant some trees.

The Preps were joined by their Grade 6 buddies and after only one hour on site, all 100 students had worked in pairs to plant 500 natives and leave the area much healthier than they’d found it.  Many hands make light work!

Thanks to our sponsors at Viatek Bendigo , this support enabled us to collaborate with a local primary school and provide a memorable outdoor learning experience for the youth of our area.  We hope they’ll visit in future and admire their grown trees with pride.

Nicole Howe | Coordinator | Bendigo North Landcare

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 is 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: Colleen 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.