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30 August 2010

 

Greenfleet, AAMI and Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses help bushfire recovery

 

Two of Greenfleet's community focused supporters - AAMI and Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses - fund the planting of 10,000 trees at the Watsons Creek Biolink Project.

It was cold, and at times wet, last Friday in Watsons Creek, adjoining Kinglake National Park, but that did not stop 50 eager volunteers from Suncorp (AAMI, GIO, Apia), Greenfleet and Parks Victoria from getting their hands dirty to assist with the landscape's recovery.

During a delicious morning tea kindly donated by Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, Sara Gipton (CEO Greenfleet), Cr Peter Beales (Mayor of Murrindindi Shire Council), Tony Fitzgerald (ranger from Parks Victoria) and Annabelle Butler (EM of Public Policy and Stakeholder Management for Suncorp General Insurance) all said a few words about the project and its significance before thanking the volunteers.

The Watsons Creek Biolink Project aims to link Kinglake National Park and the unburnt Warrandyte State Park, to revegetate the area and assist with fauna recovery.

Parks Victoria's Ranger Tony Fitzgerald explained that one particular mammal, the Brush-tailed Phascogale, a small nocturnal marsupial, hasn't been recorded in Kinglake National Park since the fires. This revegetation will create a corridor to help animal colonies such as these rebuild their numbers. 

From left to right:
Anthony Fitzgerald - Parks Victoria Ranger,
Annabelle Butler - EM of Public Policy & Stakeholder Management for Suncorp General Insurance,
Sara Gipton - CEO Greenfleet,
Cr Peter Beales - Mayor of Murrindindi Shire Council, and
Anthony Ferguson  - Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses.

At the end of the day, pride and fatigue could be read on every face - having planted almost 1,300 native seedlings, ranging from wattles and eucalypts to shrubs and grasses. 

Since April, volunteers have planted more than 5,500 seedlings at the site and professional tree planting contractors will plant another 9,000 in the coming weeks.

"The choice of indigenous species will not only provide the best conditions for survival of the seedlings, but will also offer the best habitat for wildlife," explained Greenfleet foresters.

"While the media and communities not directly affected by these fires have moved on, the recovery process is still very much ongoing. We are pleased our biodiverse forest projects not only take carbon pollution from the atmosphere to tackle climate change, but they also aid recovery of this fire affected landscape," said Sara Gipton, CEO Greenfleet.