Your carbon footprint is simply a way to understand how much greenhouse gas (mostly carbon dioxide) you are responsible for. While we produce a tiny amount of carbon dioxide when we breathe out, it is our lifestyle and the things we do and buy that produce the large quantities. In Australia, according to the EPA the average carbon footprint of an Australian home is 18 tonnes of carbon per year.

Over its lifetime, the average tree captures 268kg of carbon. If we can support community groups that actively plant trees then we are reducing our carbon footprint.

Fifteen Trees can reduce your carbon footprint by planting trees on your behalf. We can plant trees for your fleet (15 trees per vehicle), your conference (1 tree per attendee), your flights (1 tree per hour in the air) and your electricity and paper usage (contact us for an estimation).

Interested? We have written a blog about this very topic. Find it here. 

Working with a community group in your area, Fifteen Trees can organise a tree planting day for you and your team. You get to plant your own trees (minimum number 500), engage with the community and enjoy a day out in the environment. Only stay for as long as you want. No chain gang here. Fresh air, new friends, amazing landscape .. you get it all.

Interested? Click here. 

Community groups such as landcare, schools and environmental networks plant the trees.

The community benefits from the distribution of the trees. When Fifteen Trees plants on your behalf, you are helping to support those (mostly volunteer) groups who do the hard work in the community for the environment; preparing the ground, planting the trees, protecting them and keeping an eye on them for those first crucial years. Local native plant nurseries also benefit. In many instances these businesses propagate the native trees using local indigenous seeds.

Those planting your trees have local knowledge and expertise. They plant native trees indigenous to the area and at the right time of the year (usually the winter months) this in turn ensures a very good strike rate for the trees. Also, planting indigenous trees in turn encourages native wildlife to establish itself within the plantation, and sets up a whole self-sustaining ecosystem.

The trees are planted on both private and public land.

Why private? In Victoria, large areas of land are predominantly privately owned (60%). Many land restoration programs aim to link up parcels of natural land through the use of corridors. It is inevitable that these corridors pass through private land. Also, these days, farming is different. Young farmers are working hard to re-generate their land into sustainable native forests, bushland and grasslands, as well as productive land for crops and stock.

Via the Fifteen Trees website, you are able to see your trees and read the stories behind those who have planted them. We always include the name of those who have done the planting and the location of the trees. If a community group has planted your trees, we include the website of that group. You are more than welcome to contact the community group to verify or even visit, the planting site.

All groups and individuals who receive the trees for planting need to belong to an established environmental group (such as Landcare). While the trees can be planted on public and private land, these groups and individuals have a long history of looking after their native environment. Their role in the community is around sustainability and preservation.

In good faith, the trees are being planted for the long-term. However, we are all aware that floods and fire are a natural part of the Australian environment and we simply cannot guarantee that your trees will survive for 100 years. But what we do know is, that trees do regenerate, some species need a bushfire to actually release their seeds from the pods and we can’t not (yikes … a double negative) plant trees because we think they may not survive.

In the southern states, the trees are planted in the wetter, cooler months of the year (between April – October). This  helps give them the best possible start before the dry summer months. In the more northern states, the tree planting season can extend much longer. Once you have bought your trees, it could be a few months before you get to see them. Planting groups need to be organised and local nurseries found. The planting groups then need to contact their (mostly) volunteers and the planting day and location decided.

Normally, you can come plant your trees with us. To keep up to date regarding proposed public plantings, subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter (Out on a Limb). One day to put in your diary is National Tree Day (last Sunday in July), we always go out tree planting on this day. 

Alternatively, check out your local Landcare Group to find out who has planting projects in your local area. 

No, it isn’t.  To become a ‘not-for-profit’ you need to have a committee overseeing the process. This involves getting a group of people steering the direction of Fifteen Trees. We kinda like having free reign. If a project or interesting event comes up, we want to be able to pursue it without having to call a meeting in a fortnight’s time.

Having said that … Fifteen Trees does financially support organizations such as – GetUp, ACF, Who Gives A Crap, Sea Shepherd, Rainforest Rescue, GreenPeace, The Climate Council, The Bob Brown Foundation and various community projects that come up on crowd funding platforms such as Pozible.

We tend to call ourselves a ‘social enterprise’. Check out Social Traders and learn about other businesses in this genre.

“Social enterprises use the power of the market place to solve the most pressing societal problems. They are businesses that exist primarily to benefit the public and the community, rather than their shareholders and owners. Social enterprises are commercially viable businesses with a purpose of generating social impact”.

People and Planet before Profit. That’s us.

This is one area that we leave completely to the group planting the trees. In consultation with their local nursery, the group decides the species of trees. These local communities have expertise in their local flora. Often, the nursery will have collected seeds from the surrounding environment and propagates from them. Having said that … the trees planted are natives and usually indigenous to the region. The benefits of planting local species include: lower maintenance and inputs (including water), suitable habitat for local wildlife, improved biodiversity (e.g. increased bird life), higher survival rates, improved water quality, improved erosion control and habitat for insect and bird predators. More here about why natives are a great choice. 

At Fifteen Trees we believe in supporting community groups by providing them with trees for planting.

There is no charge to receive trees for planting, however you do need to be a member of an environmental or community group (such as Landcare, school, environmental network etc) to receive the trees. Trees may be planted on public or private property.

If you wish to receive free trees for planting, please contact Donna at <[email protected]> and ask for a copy of our Planting Agreement Form. Please include in your email; what community group you belong to, where you wish to plant, ideally how many trees (native tube stock) you want for your planting project/s and what nursery you intend to source your trees from. 

In a word – no!

To qualify for carbon credit registration, we would have to plant trees in huge numbers, on land at least one square km in size, which receives at least 1000mm of rain and the trees must be one of four vegetation types. These trees would then be assessed and monitored by an external company. Small community groups would then miss out and we would lose the original vision behind the business i.e. helping small (mostly rural) communities in their efforts to improve their local environment. More about carbon credits/offsets here. 

If you want to be able to claim official carbon credits with tree planting, your best bet is with GreenFleet or Carbon Neutral (both great Australian companies). If you want to have a connection with your trees and those planting your trees … stick with us and purchase trees for community groups here. 

Sponsorship is the financial or in-kind support of an activity. It is not advertising but it promotes a company in association with an activity. ATO ID 2005/284 deals with deductions and expenses in relation to sponsorship. If a company provides sponsorship in the belief that the exposure from that sponsorship will benefit the business in the form of advertising and will generate future income then the expenditure should be deductible. This will be the case even if it turns out that the sponsorship didn’t generate any future income.

Sponsorship is not advertising but it promotes a company in association with the sponsee.

Sponsorship can achieve these three business goals:

• Enhancing image and customer attitudes,
• Increasing sales, and
• Creating positive publicity and heightened visibility.

Please ask your own accountant for advice specific to your company.