Tread Softly's giant step

Tread Softly has planted one million trees in its Tread Softly Forest, achieving its goal set back May 2019 in partnership with Carbon Neutral.

The winemaker committed to planting a tree for every six bottles of wine sold. Set within rural bushland in Western Australia's Yarra Yarra biodiversity corridor, the two organisations have planted a bio-diverse mix of approximately 50 species of native trees to restore the lands that were once cleared for agricultural use, with the aim to restore the land and grow a thriving ecosystem of flora and fauna. So far, the Tread Softly Forest has seen the return of native species and wildlife that have not been sighted in the area for years.

“In planting the one millionth tree, Carbon Neutral and Tread Softly have now planted an area of over 600 hectares of what was previously over-cultivated and cleared land. At the outset of this project, this former farming property was suffering from severe land degradation and hadn’t been farmed for several years. The much-needed restoration was then made possible through the planting of a diverse range of native plant species local to the area and is now starting to truly take shape,” said Ross Marshall, Managing Director, Fourth Wave Wine.

With the support of Environmentalist and model, Laura Wells, Tread Softly have celebrated the milestone of one million native trees planted with the eco warrior visiting the site to mark this exciting milestone and plant the one millionth tree.

“The Tread Softly Forest is working to restore vital habitat for hundreds of wildlife species and has begun to re- establish a precious ecosystem comprised of unique biodiversity. It is so exciting to see the combined work of Tread Softly and Carbon Neutral and the fact that these trees capture carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, cleaning the air, and improving soil and water quality,” said Laura Wells.

Carbon Neutral’s CEO Ray Wilson says that the trees planted to date will sequester around 50,000 tonnes of carbon. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, that is the equivalent of taking over 18,000 cars off the road for a whole year.

Tread Softly wines are grown and made with modern vineyard and water management techniques to minimise environmental impact. In celebration of the one millionth tree being planted, Tread Softly has launched a limited-edition flora and fauna designed collection of wines, including a Pinot Noir, Rosé, Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Grenache, Merlot, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc as well as a complete zero- alcohol range, ‘Everything Except,’ retailing from $16.00 (RRP).