hockingstuart branches out

Ballarat real estate agent hockingstuart has teamed up with reforestation project and environmental stewards Fifteen Trees.

That means for every house hockingstuart sells, five trees will be planted in the Ballarat area.

It’s a project with a difference that fits with hockingstuart Ballarat director Tony Douglass’ aim of acknowledging clients in a lasting way.

“The idea of working with a company like Fifteen Trees really appealed to us,” he said.

“Rather than simply giving our customers a cliché bottle of wine or voucher for a local restaurant, we believe that planting these trees each time we sell a house will be much more appreciated by our customers.”

Trees are planted by local community groups such as schools, universities, Landcare groups and environmental groups.

The first lot of 100 trees has just been planted in Buninyong by The Ballarat Progress Society, organised by Leigh Catchment Group.

“We were really attracted to working with Fifteen Trees as our trees will all be planted locally by local community groups, with the trees being purchased from local independent nurseries,” Mr Douglass said.

“It’s also fantastic that we can jump on the Fifteen Trees website and see where our trees have been planted.”

It is expected that approximately 1,250 will be planted each year as a direct result of the partnership.

Only native species of trees are selected with the aim of creating local native insect, bird and small mammal habitats.

Along with the direct positive environmental affects, the program will also have an ongoing impact as hockingstuart Ballarat looks to reduce its carbon footprint.

“As real estate agents, we spend a fair amount of time driving and we have been conscious of the impact that has on the environment. Fifteen Trees will reduce the average carbon emissions from one vehicle for one year, so this partnership is a great way of minimising our carbon footprint,” Mr Douglass said.