Trees for Tassie: Land for Wildlife joins forces with Fifteen Trees

A new collaboration between Tasmanian Land Conservancy’s (TLC) Land for Wildlife Program and not-for-profit organisation Fifteen Trees is helping private landowners restore native habitat and protect our unique biodiversity.

The Fifteen Trees program provides financial support for Land for Wildlife and Gardens for Wildlife members undertaking revegetation projects. The cost of Tasmanian native plants is subsidised at $2 per plant for up to 500 plants per property. The funding can be used for a range of native species, including overstorey trees as well as midstorey and understorey plants.

Coleen Fillipa, founder of Fifteen Trees, says the program is all about making it easier for landholders to take practical action for the environment.

“At Fifteen Trees we believe in supporting community groups by providing them with trees for planting,” says Fillipa. “You just need to be a member of an environmental or community group like Land for Wildlife, Gardens for Wildlife, Landcare, or a school or environmental network. Trees may be planted on public or private property.”

This partnership is grounded in shared goals: increasing native vegetation, restoring habitats, and helping people take meaningful action on conservation and climate – whether on a large block or a small patch.

If you’re a Land for Wildlife or Gardens for Wildlife member, it’s easy to get involved: submit a short application, and once it’s approved, you simply buy a mix of locally sourced native plants and Fifteen Trees will reimburse you.

To see how it works in practice, TLC’s Land for Wildlife Coordinator (South), Phil Wise trialled it on his own Land for Wildlife property. He planted 45 plants, including blue gums and black gums for swift parrot habitat, and the threatened Allocasuarina duncanii,which is found in his area.

“The whole process was really simple,” says Phil. “After a quick chat with Colleen, I had the option to pay for the trees myself or arrange a purchase order through my nursery. Once I had the plants, I completed a short agreement with Fifteen Trees using Land for Wildlife as the community group, and Fifteen Trees reimbursed me $2 per tree.”

By easing the cost of revegetation, the program makes it more achievable for landowners to expand habitat, connect fragmented landscapes, and support native wildlife – helping TLC and its community to protect nature across the state.

You can read more about Fifteen Trees here. And if you’d like to learn how to access subsidised native plants for your property, reach out to Land for Wildlife Coordinator Phil Wise or Gardens for Wildlife Coordinator Emma McPhee.