Tree planning charity seeks sustainable growth

STAFF at local social enterprise Fifteen Trees are urging everyone to sign up for a different kind of subscription service.

The group’s initiative is called A Subscription for the Planet, and following its launch on Earth Day last month is aimed at getting 60 trees per subscriber planted throughout a 12-month period.

Fifteen Trees’ founding director Colleen Filippa said the subscription is about getting their mission to a wider audience.

“We’re trying to get individuals to get involved, nudging our supporters to contribute more,” she said. “The trees can be purchased at $27 a month, quarterly at $81 or $324 a year.

“We can get overwhelmed with where the environment is headed. It’s a feel-good thing to be able to get 60 trees planted in a year for the cost of a weekly takeaway coffee.

“According to Sustainability Victoria, the average Australian lifestyle produces 15,000 kilograms of carbon a year so we want to reduce that carbon footprint.”

The trees are set to be planted throughout Australia, and Ms Filippa said she expects between 500 to 1000 to be in Ballarat.

Ranging from acacias, wattles, and eucalypts to shrubs like hakeas, grevilleas, she oaks as well as smaller tea trees, the seeds are to be planted by Landcare members throughout Australia.

With roughly 40,000 trees planted a year, Ms Filippa said the initiative will bring some assurance to Fifteen Trees annual planting program.

“Normally, we have individuals who’ll buy say 15 trees at a time and then we have businesses who’ll buy hundreds,” she said.

“This will mean we’ll know exactly how many trees we’ll have so we can really commit to planting. Without this subscription, it’s a bit hit-and-miss in that we don’t know how many will come in.”

A crowdfunding Pozible campaign has been running alongside the launch to promote the initiative, and is open until Sunday, 14 May.

Ms Filippa said the subscription service be ongoing through the Fifteen Trees website for people to get involved with at any time.

Subscribers will be able to keep track of their 60 trees, including where they’ve been planted and by who.